Dr David Hughes

Lecturer

Researcher profile

Phone

+44 (0)1334 467197

Email

djh25@st-andrews.ac.uk

Research areas

Worldwide, viral infections represent major concerns to human health and global food security. From causing 15-20% of cancers to major outbreaks such as the Ebola epidemic in 2014, their effects are far-reaching. For most viruses, vaccines and targeted therapies are not available. Even if they were, many viruses rapidly mutate and develop resistance. Therefore, they represent major biomedical challenges.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, including molecular biology, cell biology and proteomics technologies, the objective of our research is to gain a deeper understanding of virus-host interactions at a fundamental level. In doing so, we may also uncover novel therapeutic targets. The primary rationale for studying drugable cellular processes that hinder virus biology is the potential to identify therapies that viruses find harder to develop resistance to.

A major focus of the lab is to gain insights into the importance of posttranlational modifications such as acetylation and ubiquitin-like (Ubl) proteins (such as ubiquitin, NEDD8, ISG15 & SUMO) during viral infection.  As obligate intracellular pathogens, viruses are capable of rewiring cellular networks, and many have been shown to utilise these modification for their own benefit, or to antagonise their effects during the antiviral response. Therefore, a deeper understanding of their importance during viral infection may lead to the development of novel antiviral compounds. Indeed, we have recently shown NEDDylation is a viable target for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) malignancies, such as primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). We study a number of viruses, including herpesviruses and paramyxoviruses.

PhD supervision

• Chloe Jones
• Anasua Deb
• Andrew Seaton

Selected publications

• Direct antiviral activity of interferon stimulated genes is responsible for resistance to paramyxoviruses in ISG15-deficient cells

  Holthaus, D., Vasou, A., Bamford, C., Andrejeva, J., Paulus, C., Randall, R. E., McLauchlan, J. & Hughes, D. J., 18 May 2020, In : The Journal of Immunology. 11 p., ji1901472.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Innate intracellular antiviral responses restrict the amplification of defective virus genomes of parainfluenza virus type 5

  Wignall-Fleming, E. B., Vasou, A., Young, D., Short, J. A. L., Hughes, D. J., Goodbourn, S. & Randall, R. E., 16 Jun 2020, In : Journal of Virology. 94, 13, 15 p., 00246-20.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• The BHLF1 locus of Epstein-Barr virus contributes to viral latency and B-cell immortalization

  Yetming, K., Lupey-Green, L., Biryukov, S., Hughes, D. J., Marendy, E., Miranda, JJ. & Sample, J., 19 Jun 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : Journal of Virology. JVI01215-20.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Analysis of paramyxovirus transcription and replication by high-throughput sequencing

  Wignall-Fleming, E. B., Hughes, D. J., Vattipally, S., Modha, S., Goodbourn, S., Davison, A. J. & Randall, R. E., 13 Aug 2019, In : Journal of Virology. 93, 17, 17 p., e00571-19.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Contribution of the KSHV and EBV lytic cycles to tumourigenesis

  Manners, O., Murphy, J., Coleman, A., Hughes, D. J. & Whitehouse, A., Oct 2018, In : Current Opinion in Virology. 32, p. 60-70

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Review article

• Generation of specific inhibitors of SUMO-1- and SUMO-2/3-mediated protein-protein interactions using Affimer (Adhiron) technology

  Hughes, D. J., Tiede, C., Penswick, N., Ah-San Tang, A., Trinh, C. H., Mendal, U., Zajac, K. Z., Gaule, T., Howell, G., Edwards, T. A., Duan, J., Feyfant, E., McPhereson, M. J., Tomlinson, D. C. & Whitehouse, A., 14 Nov 2017, In : Science Signaling. 10, 505, 14 p., eaaj2005.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Isolation of isoform-specific binding proteins (Affimers) by phage display using negative selection

  Tang, A. A-S., Tiede, C., Hughes, D. J., McPherson, M. J. & Tomlinson, D. C., 14 Nov 2017, In : Science Signaling. 10, 505, 12 p., eaan0868.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• ARID3B: a novel regulator of the Kaposi?s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus lytic cycle

  Wood, J., Boyne, J., Paulus, C., Jackson, B., Nevels, M. M., Whitehouse, A. & Hughes, D. J., Oct 2016, In : Journal of Virology. 90, 20, p. 9543-9555 13 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Gammaherpesvirus infection modulates the temporal and spatial expression of SCGB1A1 (CCSP) and BPIFA1 (SPLUNC1) in the respiratory tract

  Leeming, G. H., Kipar, A., Hughes, D. J., Bingle, L., Bennett, E., Moyo, N. A., Tripp, R. A., Bigley, A. L., Bingle, C. D., Sample, J. T. & Stewart, J. P., Jun 2015, In : Laboratory Investigation. 95, p. 610-624 15 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

• Interactome analysis of the human respiratory syncytial virus RNA polymerase complex identifies protein chaperones as important co-factors that promote L protein stability and RNA synthesis

  Munday, D. C., Wu, W., Smith, N., Fix, J., Noton, S. L., Galloux, M., Touzelet, O., Armstrong, S. D., Dawson, J. M., Aljabr, W., Easton, A. J., Rameix-Welti, M-A., de Oliveira, A. P., Simabuco, F., Ventura, A. M., Hughes, D. J., Barr, J. N., Fearns, R., Digard, P., Eléouët, J-F. & Hiscox, J. A., 15 Jan 2015, In : Journal of Virology. 89, 2, p. 917-930 14 p.

  Research output: Contribution to journal ? Article

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