Melanie Ott’s lab focuses mainly on two viruses: the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and the hepatitis C virus. HIV infects immune cells known as CD4+ T cells, wreaking havoc on the body’s immune system. However, the virus can also remain dormant in CD4+ T cells and re-emerge later to initiate a new round of infection. The hepatitis C virus targets liver cells, where it uses fat droplets to propagate itself while compromising the cells’ fat and energy metabolism. Ott’s team strives to understand the molecular interactions between these viruses and their target cells to yield targets for new therapeutic drugs. The lab also studies the Zika virus and its interaction with host RNA control pathways.
Disease Areas
Autoimmunity
Hepatitis C
HIV/AIDS
Zika Virus
Areas of Expertise
Chromatin Biology
Immunology
Organoids
Virology
Lab Focus
Understanding how host epigenetic mechanisms regulate HIV latency.
Understanding flaviviral interactions with lipid droplets and the nonsense-mediated RNA decay pathway.
Understanding how the protein SIRT1 regulates immune aging during HIV infection.
Research Impact
The team demonstrated the importance of a protein modification called acetylation in the regulation of HIV expression and latency. This work paves the way for the use of acetylation-targeting agents to reverse latency, which is considered the main obstacle to HIV eradication.
Ott’s lab established SIRT1 as a central regulator of the balance between regulatory T cells, which suppress the immune response, and Th17 cells, which promote inflammation. This balance is compromised in both chronic HIV infection and autoimmune disease, and characterizing the SIRT1 pathway will provide new therapeutic approaches to alleviate both conditions.
Ott and her group also showed the hepatitis C virus’s dependence on lipid droplets, which has repercussions beyond the treatment of this virus, given that other deadly viruses also use lipid droplets to multiply.
Related News
Professional Titles
Director, Gladstone Institute of Virology
Senior Vice President, Gladstone Institutes
Professor, Medicine, UC San Francisco
Bio
A native of Germany, Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, is the director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology, a senior investigator at Gladstone Institutes, and a professor of medicine at UCSF.
Ott is passionate about using viruses to find fundamental new biology in host cells. She has made important discoveries about how viruses—including the hepatitis C virus and Zika—hijack human cells, and has contributed to efforts to eradicate HIV by gaining insight into viral transcriptional control. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, she pivoted the focus of her team and spearheaded the effort to establish a dedicated airborne pathogen BSL-3 lab to enable work on live SARS-CoV-2.
Prior to joining Gladstone in 2002, Ott started her own research group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, working closely with Nobel laureate Harald zur Hausen. She is a trained neurologist with an MD from the University of Frankfurt/Main in Germany. She transitioned to basic virology research during the AIDS crisis, earning a PhD in molecular medicine from the Elmezzi Graduate School in Manhasset, New York.
Ott has received several honors, including the Young Researcher Award at the European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research and the Hellman Award. She is a member of the Association of American Physicians and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. She is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service from UCSF for her work as the founder and co-chair of the student outreach committee at Gladstone. Ott also received the California Life Sciences Association’s Biotechnology Educator Pantheon Award for establishing the PUMAS (Promoting Underrepresented Minorities Advancing in the Sciences) internship program at Gladstone, which seeks to increase diversity in STEM.
How Did You Get Your Start in Science?
“I worked as a neurologist when the first genome was sequenced and PCR was discovered. This triggered my passion for the molecular basis of diseases.”
Melanie Ott, MD, PhD
Honors and Awards
2019 NIH Merit Award, National Institutes of Health
2018 UCSF AIDS Research Institute Award for Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring
2018 Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (Elected)
2017 DiNA Award Biotechnology Educator of the Year, California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)
2014 Avant-Garde Award, National Institutes of Health
2013 Member of Association of American Physicians (Elected)
2008 Thomas N. Burbridge Award, UC San Francisco
2008 Sandler Opportunity Award, UC San Francisco
2008 UCSF Chancellor’s Award for Public Service, UC San Francisco
2006 Hellman Family Award, UC San Francisco
2000 Young Researcher Award, European Conference on Experimental AIDS Research, Madrid, Spain
1999 Young Research Award, European Conference on Experimental AID Research, Tampere, Finland
1991 Honors, Magna Cum Laude, University of Frankfurt/Main, Germany
1984 Scholarship, German National Merit Foundation
Publications
- SIRT1 is downregulated by autophagy in senescence and ageing. Xu C, Wang L, Fozouni P, Evjen G, Chandra V, Jiang J, Lu C, Nicastri M, Bretz C, Winkler JD, Amaravadi R, Garcia BA, Adams PD, Ott M, Tong W, Johansen T, Dou Z, Berger SL. Nat Cell Biol. 2020 Oct; 22(10):1170-1179.
- Functional genomic screens identify human host factors for SARS-CoV-2 and common cold coronaviruses. Wang R, Simoneau CR, Kulsuptrakul J, Bouhaddou M, Travisano K, Hayashi JM, Carlson-Stevermer J, Oki J, Holden K, Krogan NJ, Ott M, Puschnik AS. bioRxiv. 2020 Sep 24.
- Next-Generation Surrogate Wnts Support Organoid Growth and Deconvolute Frizzled Pleiotropy In Vivo. Miao Y, Ha A, de Lau W, Yuki K, Santos AJM, You C, Geurts MH, Puschhof J, Pleguezuelos-Manzano C, Peng WC, Senlice R, Piani C, Buikema JW, Gbenedio OM, Vallon M, Yuan J, de Haan S, Hemrika W, Rösch K, Dang LT, Baker D, Ott M, Depeille P, Wu SM, Drost J, Nusse R, Roose JP, Piehler J, Boj SF, Janda CY, Clevers H, Kuo CJ, Garcia KC. Cell Stem Cell. 2020 Aug 14.
- Turning up the heat on HIV-1. Chen IP, Ott M. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 07 14; 117(28):16109-16111.
- The Global Phosphorylation Landscape of SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Bouhaddou M, Memon D, Meyer B, White KM, Rezelj VV, Correa Marrero M, Polacco BJ, Melnyk JE, Ulferts S, Kaake RM, Batra J, Richards AL, Stevenson E, Gordon DE, Rojc A, Obernier K, Fabius JM, Soucheray M, Miorin L, Moreno E, Koh C, Tran QD, Hardy A, Robinot R, Vallet T, Nilsson-Payant BE, Hernandez-Armenta C, Dunham A, Weigang S, Knerr J, Modak M, Quintero D, Zhou Y, Dugourd A, Valdeolivas A, Patil T, Li Q, Hüttenhain R, Cakir M, Muralidharan M, Kim M, Jang G, Tutuncuoglu B, Hiatt J, Guo JZ, Xu J, Bouhaddou S, Mathy CJP, Gaulton A, Manners EJ, Félix E, Shi Y, Goff M, Lim JK, McBride T, O'Neal MC, Cai Y, Chang JCJ, Broadhurst DJ, Klippsten S, De Wit E, Leach AR, Kortemme T, Shoichet B, Ott M, Saez-Rodriguez J, tenOever BR, Mullins RD, Fischer ER, Kochs G, Grosse R, García-Sastre A, Vignuzzi M, Johnson JR, Shokat KM, Swaney DL, Beltrao P, Krogan NJ. Cell. 2020 08 06; 182(3):685-712.e19.
- An 'Arms Race' between the Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay Pathway and Viral Infections. Leon K, Ott M. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2020 Jun 15.
- FOXO1 promotes HIV latency by suppressing ER stress in T cells. Vallejo-Gracia A, Chen IP, Perrone R, Besnard E, Boehm D, Battivelli E, Tezil T, Krey K, Raymond KA, Hull PA, Walter M, Habrylo I, Cruz A, Deeks S, Pillai S, Verdin E, Ott M. Nat Microbiol. 2020 Sep; 5(9):1144-1157.
- A combinatorial view of old and new RNA polymerase II modifications. Lyons DE, McMahon S, Ott M. Transcription. 2020 Apr; 11(2):66-82.
- A SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map reveals targets for drug repurposing. Gordon DE, Jang GM, Bouhaddou M, Xu J, Obernier K, White KM, O'Meara MJ, Rezelj VV, Guo JZ, Swaney DL, Tummino TA, Hüttenhain R, Kaake RM, Richards AL, Tutuncuoglu B, Foussard H, Batra J, Haas K, Modak M, Kim M, Haas P, Polacco BJ, Braberg H, Fabius JM, Eckhardt M, Soucheray M, Bennett MJ, Cakir M, McGregor MJ, Li Q, Meyer B, Roesch F, Vallet T, Mac Kain A, Miorin L, Moreno E, Naing ZZC, Zhou Y, Peng S, Shi Y, Zhang Z, Shen W, Kirby IT, Melnyk JE, Chorba JS, Lou K, Dai SA, Barrio-Hernandez I, Memon D, Hernandez-Armenta C, Lyu J, Mathy CJP, Perica T, Pilla KB, Ganesan SJ, Saltzberg DJ, Rakesh R, Liu X, Rosenthal SB, Calviello L, Venkataramanan S, Liboy-Lugo J, Lin Y, Huang XP, Liu Y, Wankowicz SA, Bohn M, Safari M, Ugur FS, Koh C, Savar NS, Tran QD, Shengjuler D, Fletcher SJ, O'Neal MC, Cai Y, Chang JCJ, Broadhurst DJ, Klippsten S, Sharp PP, Wenzell NA, Kuzuoglu-Ozturk D, Wang HY, Trenker R, Young JM, Cavero DA, Hiatt J, Roth TL, Rathore U, Subramanian A, Noack J, Hubert M, Stroud RM, Frankel AD, Rosenberg OS, Verba KA, Agard DA, Ott M, Emerman M, Jura N, von Zastrow M, Verdin E, Ashworth A, Schwartz O, d'Enfert C, Mukherjee S, Jacobson M, Malik HS, Fujimori DG, Ideker T, Craik CS, Floor SN, Fraser JS, Gross JD, Sali A, Roth BL, Ruggero D, Taunton J, Kortemme T, Beltrao P, Vignuzzi M, García-Sastre A, Shokat KM, Shoichet BK, Krogan NJ. Nature. 2020 07; 583(7816):459-468.
- Low expression of RNA sensors impacts Zika virus infection in the lower female reproductive tract. Khan S, Lew I, Wu F, Fritts L, Fontaine KA, Tomar S, Trapecar M, Shehata HM, Ott M, Miller CJ, Sanjabi S. Nat Commun. 2019 09 25; 10(1):4344.
- Crosstalk between RNA Pol II C-Terminal Domain Acetylation and Phosphorylation via RPRD Proteins. Ali I, Ruiz DG, Ni Z, Johnson JR, Zhang H, Li PC, Khalid MM, Conrad RJ, Guo X, Min J, Greenblatt J, Jacobson M, Krogan NJ, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2019 06 20; 74(6):1164-1174.e4.
- High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Identify and Quantify Acetylation Protein Targets. Schilling B, Meyer JG, Wei L, Ott M, Verdin E. Methods Mol Biol. 2019; 1983:3-16.
- A BAF'ling Approach to Curing HIV. Tomar S, Ali I, Ott M. Cell Chem Biol. 2018 12 20; 25(12):1441-1442.
- How cells hush a viral invader. Fozouni P, Ott M. Nature. 2018 12; 564(7735):193-194.
- The Cellular NMD Pathway Restricts Zika Virus Infection and Is Targeted by the Viral Capsid Protein. Fontaine KA, Leon KE, Khalid MM, Tomar S, Jimenez-Morales D, Dunlap M, Kaye JA, Shah PS, Finkbeiner S, Krogan NJ, Ott M. mBio. 2018 11 06; 9(6).
- Lysine Acetylation Goes Global: From Epigenetics to Metabolism and Therapeutics. Ali I, Conrad RJ, Verdin E, Ott M. Chem Rev. 2018 02 14; 118(3):1216-1252.
- Metabolic reprogramming of human CD8+ memory T cells through loss of SIRT1. Jeng MY, Hull PA, Fei M, Kwon HS, Tsou CL, Kasler H, Ng CP, Gordon DE, Johnson J, Krogan N, Verdin E, Ott M. J Exp Med. 2018 01 02; 215(1):51-62.
- Host Methyltransferases and Demethylases: Potential New Epigenetic Targets for HIV Cure Strategies and Beyond. Boehm D, Ott M. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2017 Nov; 33(S1):S8-S22.
- The Short Isoform of BRD4 Promotes HIV-1 Latency by Engaging Repressive SWI/SNF Chromatin-Remodeling Complexes. Conrad RJ, Fozouni P, Thomas S, Sy H, Zhang Q, Zhou MM, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2017 Sep 21; 67(6):1001-1012.e6.
- Flow Cytometric Analysis of HIV-1 Transcriptional Activity in Response to shRNA Knockdown in A2 and A72 J-Lat Cell Lines. Boehm D, Ott M. Bio Protoc. 2017 Jun 05; 7(11).
- Flow Cytometric Analysis of Drug-induced HIV-1 Transcriptional Activity in A2 and A72 J-Lat Cell Lines. Boehm D, Ott M. Bio Protoc. 2017 May 20; 7(10).
- SMYD2-Mediated Histone Methylation Contributes to HIV-1 Latency. Boehm D, Jeng M, Camus G, Gramatica A, Schwarzer R, Johnson JR, Hull PA, Montano M, Sakane N, Pagans S, Godin R, Deeks SG, Krogan NJ, Greene WC, Ott M. Cell Host Microbe. 2017 May 10; 21(5):569-579.e6.
- Retrovirus Integration: Some Assembly Required? Ali I, Conrad RJ, Ott M. Cell Host Microbe. 2016 Dec 14; 20(6):702-704.
- The mTOR Complex Controls HIV Latency. Besnard E, Hakre S, Kampmann M, Lim HW, Hosmane NN, Martin A, Bassik MC, Verschueren E, Battivelli E, Chan J, Svensson JP, Gramatica A, Conrad RJ, Ott M, Greene WC, Krogan NJ, Siliciano RF, Weissman JS, Verdin E. Cell Host Microbe. 2016 Dec 14; 20(6):785-797.
- Dampened antiviral immunity to intravaginal exposure to RNA viral pathogens allows enhanced viral replication. Khan S, Woodruff EM, Trapecar M, Fontaine KA, Ezaki A, Borbet TC, Ott M, Sanjabi S. J Exp Med. 2016 12 12; 213(13):2913-2929.
- Asna1/TRC40 that mediates membrane insertion of tail-anchored proteins is required for efficient release of Herpes simplex virus 1 virions. Ott M, Marques D, Funk C, Bailer SM. Virol J. 2016 Oct 20; 13(1):175.
- International AIDS Society global scientific strategy: towards an HIV cure 2016. Deeks SG, Lewin SR, Ross AL, Ananworanich J, Benkirane M, Cannon P, Chomont N, Douek D, Lifson JD, Lo YR, Kuritzkes D, Margolis D, Mellors J, Persaud D, Tucker JD, Barre-Sinoussi F, Alter G, Auerbach J, Autran B, Barouch DH, Behrens G, Cavazzana M, Chen Z, Cohen ÉA, Corbelli GM, Eholié S, Eyal N, Fidler S, Garcia L, Grossman C, Henderson G, Henrich TJ, Jefferys R, Kiem HP, McCune J, Moodley K, Newman PA, Nijhuis M, Nsubuga MS, Ott M, Palmer S, Richman D, Saez-Cirion A, Sharp M, Siliciano J, Silvestri G, Singh J, Spire B, Taylor J, Tolstrup M, Valente S, van Lunzen J, Walensky R, Wilson I, Zack J. Nat Med. 2016 08; 22(8):839-50.
- Salicylate, diflunisal and their metabolites inhibit CBP/p300 and exhibit anticancer activity. Shirakawa K, Wang L, Man N, Maksimoska J, Sorum AW, Lim HW, Lee IS, Shimazu T, Newman JC, Schröder S, Ott M, Marmorstein R, Meier J, Nimer S, Verdin E. Elife. 2016 05 31; 5.
- Entangled in a membranous web: ER and lipid droplet reorganization during hepatitis C virus infection. Meyers NL, Fontaine KA, Kumar GR, Ott M. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2016 08; 41:117-24.
- The HIV-1 Tat Protein Is Monomethylated at Lysine 71 by the Lysine Methyltransferase KMT7. Ali I, Ramage H, Boehm D, Dirk LM, Sakane N, Hanada K, Pagans S, Kaehlcke K, Aull K, Weinberger L, Trievel R, Schnoelzer M, Kamada M, Houtz R, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2016 07 29; 291(31):16240-8.
- Therapeutics Targeting Protein Acetylation Perturb Latency of Human Viruses. Conrad RJ, Ott M. ACS Chem Biol. 2016 Mar 18; 11(3):669-80.
- Zinc supplementation induces regulatory T cells by inhibition of Sirt-1 deacetylase in mixed lymphocyte cultures. Rosenkranz E, Metz CH, Maywald M, Hilgers RD, Weßels I, Senff T, Haase H, Jäger M, Ott M, Aspinall R, Plümäkers B, Rink L. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2016 Mar; 60(3):661-71.
- Subcellular trafficking and functional importance of herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein M domains. Striebinger H, Zhang J, Ott M, Funk C, Radtke K, Duron J, Ruzsics Z, Haas J, Lippé R, Bailer SM. J Gen Virol. 2015 Nov; 96(11):3313-3325.
- Manipulation of the host protein acetylation network by human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Jeng MY, Ali I, Ott M. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol. 2015; 50(4):314-25.
- The Herpes Simplex Virus Protein pUL31 Escorts Nucleocapsids to Sites of Nuclear Egress, a Process Coordinated by Its N-Terminal Domain. Funk C, Ott M, Raschbichler V, Nagel CH, Binz A, Sodeik B, Bauerfeind R, Bailer SM. PLoS Pathog. 2015 Jun; 11(6):e1004957.
- SIRT1 deacetylates ROR?t and enhances Th17 cell generation. Lim HW, Kang SG, Ryu JK, Schilling B, Fei M, Lee IS, Kehasse A, Shirakawa K, Yokoyama M, Schnölzer M, Kasler HG, Kwon HS, Gibson BW, Sato H, Akassoglou K, Xiao C, Littman DR, Ott M, Verdin E. J Exp Med. 2015 Jun 01; 212(6):973.
- SIRT1 deacetylates ROR?t and enhances Th17 cell generation. Lim HW, Kang SG, Ryu JK, Schilling B, Fei M, Lee IS, Kehasse A, Shirakawa K, Yokoyama M, Schnölzer M, Kasler HG, Kwon HS, Gibson BW, Sato H, Akassoglou K, Xiao C, Littman DR, Ott M, Verdin E. J Exp Med. 2015 May 04; 212(5):607-17.
- Membrane Flotation Assay. Vogt DA, Ott M. Bio Protoc. 2015 Apr 05; 5(7).
- Evolution of lysine acetylation in the RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain. Simonti CN, Pollard KS, Schröder S, He D, Bruneau BG, Ott M, Capra JA. BMC Evol Biol. 2015 Mar 10; 15:35.
- A combined proteomics/genomics approach links hepatitis C virus infection with nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Ramage HR, Kumar GR, Verschueren E, Johnson JR, Von Dollen J, Johnson T, Newton B, Shah P, Horner J, Krogan NJ, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2015 Jan 22; 57(2):329-340.
- 50 years of protein acetylation: from gene regulation to epigenetics, metabolism and beyond. Verdin E, Ott M. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2015 04; 16(4):258-64.
- The hepatitis C virus core protein inhibits adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL)-mediated lipid mobilization and enhances the ATGL interaction with comparative gene identification 58 (CGI-58) and lipid droplets. Camus G, Schweiger M, Herker E, Harris C, Kondratowicz AS, Tsou CL, Farese RV, Herath K, Previs SF, Roddy TP, Pinto S, Zechner R, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2014 Dec 26; 289(52):35770-80.
- Acetylation of RNA polymerase II regulates growth-factor-induced gene transcription in mammalian cells. Schröder S, Herker E, Itzen F, He D, Thomas S, Gilchrist DA, Kaehlcke K, Cho S, Pollard KS, Capra JA, Schnölzer M, Cole PA, Geyer M, Bruneau BG, Adelman K, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2013 Nov 07; 52(3):314-24.
- Evasion of superinfection exclusion and elimination of primary viral RNA by an adapted strain of hepatitis C virus. Webster B, Ott M, Greene WC. J Virol. 2013 Dec; 87(24):13354-69.
- Acetylphosphate: a novel link between lysine acetylation and intermediary metabolism in bacteria. Verdin E, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2013 Jul 25; 51(2):132-4.
- Bromodomain proteins in HIV infection. Boehm D, Conrad RJ, Ott M. Viruses. 2013 Jun 21; 5(6):1571-86.
- Three rules for HIV latency: location, location, and location. Ott M, Verdin E. Cell Host Microbe. 2013 Jun 12; 13(6):625-6.
- How the antiviral immune response boosts liver fat. Camus G, Ott M. Nat Med. 2013 Jun; 19(6):671-2.
- Lipid droplet-binding protein TIP47 regulates hepatitis C Virus RNA replication through interaction with the viral NS5A protein. Vogt DA, Camus G, Herker E, Webster BR, Tsou CL, Greene WC, Yen TS, Ott M. PLoS Pathog. 2013; 9(4):e1003302.
- Diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1 localizes hepatitis C virus NS5A protein to lipid droplets and enhances NS5A interaction with the viral capsid core. Camus G, Herker E, Modi AA, Haas JT, Ramage HR, Farese RV, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2013 Apr 05; 288(14):9915-23.
- Snapshots: chromatin control of viral infection. Knipe DM, Lieberman PM, Jung JU, McBride AA, Morris KV, Ott M, Margolis D, Nieto A, Nevels M, Parks RJ, Kristie TM. Virology. 2013 Jan 05; 435(1):141-56.
- Lipid droplets and viral infections. Camus G, Vogt DA, Kondratowicz AS, Ott M. Methods Cell Biol. 2013; 116:167-90.
- Rapid intracellular competition between hepatitis C viral genomes as a result of mitosis. Webster B, Wissing S, Herker E, Ott M, Greene WC. J Virol. 2013 Jan; 87(1):581-96.
- Three novel acetylation sites in the Foxp3 transcription factor regulate the suppressive activity of regulatory T cells. Kwon HS, Lim HW, Wu J, Schnölzer M, Verdin E, Ott M. J Immunol. 2012 Mar 15; 188(6):2712-21.
- BET bromodomain-targeting compounds reactivate HIV from latency via a Tat-independent mechanism. Boehm D, Calvanese V, Dar RD, Xing S, Schroeder S, Martins L, Aull K, Li PC, Planelles V, Bradner JE, Zhou MM, Siliciano RF, Weinberger L, Verdin E, Ott M. Cell Cycle. 2013 Feb 01; 12(3):452-62.
- The control of HIV transcription: keeping RNA polymerase II on track. Ott M, Geyer M, Zhou Q. Cell Host Microbe. 2011 Nov 17; 10(5):426-35.
- Emerging role of lipid droplets in host/pathogen interactions. Herker E, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2012 Jan 20; 287(4):2280-7.
- Two-pronged binding with bromodomain-containing protein 4 liberates positive transcription elongation factor b from inactive ribonucleoprotein complexes. Schröder S, Cho S, Zeng L, Zhang Q, Kaehlcke K, Mak L, Lau J, Bisgrove D, Schnölzer M, Verdin E, Zhou MM, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2012 Jan 06; 287(2):1090-9.
- Hepatitis C virus core protein decreases lipid droplet turnover: a mechanism for core-induced steatosis. Harris C, Herker E, Farese RV, Ott M. J Biol Chem. 2011 Dec 09; 286(49):42615-25.
- Activation of HIV transcription by the viral Tat protein requires a demethylation step mediated by lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1). Sakane N, Kwon HS, Pagans S, Kaehlcke K, Mizusawa Y, Kamada M, Lassen KG, Chan J, Greene WC, Schnoelzer M, Ott M. PLoS Pathog. 2011 Aug; 7(8):e1002184.
- Functional characterization of the essential tail anchor of the herpes simplex virus type 1 nuclear egress protein pUL34. Ott M, Tascher G, Haßdenteufel S, Zimmermann R, Haas J, Bailer SM. J Gen Virol. 2011 Dec; 92(Pt 12):2734-2745.
- Unique ties between hepatitis C virus replication and intracellular lipids. Herker E, Ott M. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jun; 22(6):241-8.
- HIV never ceases to surprise: Innovative methods in the quest for a cure. Ott M. Methods. 2011 Jan; 53(1):1-2.
- Efficient hepatitis C virus particle formation requires diacylglycerol acyltransferase-1. Herker E, Harris C, Hernandez C, Carpentier A, Kaehlcke K, Rosenberg AR, Farese RV, Ott M. Nat Med. 2010 Nov; 16(11):1295-8.
- Acetylation of tau inhibits its degradation and contributes to tauopathy. Min SW, Cho SH, Zhou Y, Schroeder S, Haroutunian V, Seeley WW, Huang EJ, Shen Y, Masliah E, Mukherjee C, Meyers D, Cole PA, Ott M, Gan L. Neuron. 2010 Sep 23; 67(6):953-66.
- Characterization of HIV Tat modifications using novel methyl-lysine-specific antibodies. Pagans S, Sakane N, Schnölzer M, Ott M. Methods. 2011 Jan; 53(1):91-6.
- CYCLINg through transcription: posttranslational modifications of P-TEFb regulate transcription elongation. Cho S, Schroeder S, Ott M. . 2010 May; 9(9):1697-705.
- HAT trick: p300, small molecule, inhibitor. Ott M, Verdin E. Chem Biol. 2010 May 28; 17(5):417-8.
- The Cellular lysine methyltransferase Set7/9-KMT7 binds HIV-1 TAR RNA, monomethylates the viral transactivator Tat, and enhances HIV transcription. Pagans S, Kauder SE, Kaehlcke K, Sakane N, Schroeder S, Dormeyer W, Trievel RC, Verdin E, Schnolzer M, Ott M. . 2010 Mar 18; 7(3):234-44.
- Acetylation of cyclin T1 regulates the equilibrium between active and inactive P-TEFb in cells. Cho S, Schroeder S, Kaehlcke K, Kwon HS, Pedal A, Herker E, Schnoelzer M, Ott M. EMBO J. 2009 May 20; 28(10):1407-17.
- Pregnane X receptor (PXR) regulates P-glycoprotein at the blood-brain barrier: functional similarities between pig and human PXR. Ott M, Fricker G, Bauer B. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2009 Apr; 329(1):141-9.
- Optical reporters for the conformation of alpha-synuclein reveal a specific interaction with mitochondria. Nakamura K, Nemani VM, Wallender EK, Kaehlcke K, Ott M, Edwards RH. J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 19; 28(47):12305-17.
- The ups and downs of SIRT1. Kwon HS, Ott M. Trends Biochem Sci. 2008 Nov; 33(11):517-25.
- Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 Tat protein inhibits the SIRT1 deacetylase and induces T cell hyperactivation. Kwon HS, Brent MM, Getachew R, Jayakumar P, Chen LF, Schnolzer M, McBurney MW, Marmorstein R, Greene WC, Ott M. . 2008 Mar 13; 3(3):158-67.
- Recruitment and activation of RSK2 by HIV-1 Tat. Hetzer C, Bisgrove D, Cohen MS, Pedal A, Kaehlcke K, Speyerer A, Bartscherer K, Taunton J, Ott M. PLoS One. 2007 Jan 17; 2(1):e151.
- Hepatitis C and risk of lymphoma: results of the European multicenter case-control study EPILYMPH. Nieters A, Kallinowski B, Brennan P, Ott M, Maynadié M, Benavente Y, Foretova L, Cocco PL, Staines A, Vornanen M, Whitby D, Boffetta P, Becker N, De Sanjosé S. Gastroenterology. 2006 Dec; 131(6):1879-86.
- The SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex is a cofactor for Tat transactivation of the HIV promoter. Mahmoudi T, Parra M, Vries RG, Kauder SE, Verrijzer CP, Ott M, Verdin E. J Biol Chem. 2006 Jul 21; 281(29):19960-8.
- Analysis of p300 acetyltransferase substrate specificity by MALDI TOF mass spectrometry. Dormeyer W, Ott M, Schnölzer M. Methods. 2005 Aug; 36(4):376-82.
- Decoding Tat: the biology of HIV Tat posttranslational modifications. Hetzer C, Dormeyer W, Schnölzer M, Ott M. Microbes Infect. 2005 Oct; 7(13):1364-9.
- Probing lysine acetylation in proteins: strategies, limitations, and pitfalls of in vitro acetyltransferase assays. Dormeyer W, Ott M, Schnölzer M. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2005 Sep; 4(9):1226-39.
- SIRT1 regulates HIV transcription via Tat deacetylation. Pagans S, Pedal A, North BJ, Kaehlcke K, Marshall BL, Dorr A, Hetzer-Egger C, Henklein P, Frye R, McBurney MW, Hruby H, Jung M, Verdin E, Ott M. PLoS Biol. 2005 Feb; 3(2):e41.
- Targeting of hepatitis C virus core protein to mitochondria through a novel C-terminal localization motif. Schwer B, Ren S, Pietschmann T, Kartenbeck J, Kaehlcke K, Bartenschlager R, Yen TS, Ott M. J Virol. 2004 Aug; 78(15):7958-68.
- HIV-1 Nef mimics an integrin receptor signal that recruits the polycomb group protein Eed to the plasma membrane. Witte V, Laffert B, Rosorius O, Lischka P, Blume K, Galler G, Stilper A, Willbold D, D'Aloja P, Sixt M, Kolanus J, Ott M, Kolanus W, Schuler G, Baur AS. Mol Cell. 2004 Jan 30; 13(2):179-90.
- Tat acetylation: a regulatory switch between early and late phases in HIV transcription elongation. Ott M, Dorr A, Hetzer-Egger C, Kaehlcke K, Schnolzer M, Henklein P, Cole P, Zhou MM, Verdin E. Novartis Found Symp. 2004; 259:182-93; discussion 193-6, 223-5.
- Acetylation of the HIV-1 Tat protein: an in vitro study. Dormeyer W, Dorr A, Ott M, Schnölzer M. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2003 Aug; 376(7):994-1005.
- Acetylation of Tat defines a cyclinT1-independent step in HIV transactivation. Kaehlcke K, Dorr A, Hetzer-Egger C, Kiermer V, Henklein P, Schnoelzer M, Loret E, Cole PA, Verdin E, Ott M. Mol Cell. 2003 Jul; 12(1):167-76.
- Release and intercellular transfer of cell surface CD81 via microparticles. Fritzsching B, Schwer B, Kartenbeck J, Pedal A, Horejsi V, Ott M. J Immunol. 2002 Nov 15; 169(10):5531-7.
- The human silent information regulator (Sir)2 homologue hSIRT3 is a mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent deacetylase. Schwer B, North BJ, Frye RA, Ott M, Verdin E. J Cell Biol. 2002 Aug 19; 158(4):647-57.
- Transcriptional synergy between Tat and PCAF is dependent on the binding of acetylated Tat to the PCAF bromodomain. Dorr A, Kiermer V, Pedal A, Rackwitz HR, Henklein P, Schubert U, Zhou MM, Verdin E, Ott M. EMBO J. 2002 Jun 03; 21(11):2715-23.
- Structural basis of lysine-acetylated HIV-1 Tat recognition by PCAF bromodomain. Mujtaba S, He Y, Zeng L, Farooq A, Carlson JE, Ott M, Verdin E, Zhou MM. Mol Cell. 2002 Mar; 9(3):575-86.
Contact
Melanie Ott
415.734.4807
Veronica Fonseca
Senior Executive Assistant
Lab Members
Gili Aviv, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Daniela Boehm, PhD
Staff Research Scientist I
Irene Chen
Graduate Student
Jesse Chen
Research Associate II
Veronica Fonseca
Senior Executive Assistant
Krystal Fontaine, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Parinaz Fozouni
Graduate Student
Jennifer Hayashi, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Mir Khalid, MS
Graduate Student
Renuka Kumar, PhD
Scientific Program Leader II
Kristoffer Leon
Graduate Student
Danielle Lyons, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Sarah McMahon
Graduate Student
Nathan Meyers, PhD
Visiting Scientist
Ursula Schulze-Gahmen, PhD
Staff Research Scientist III
Jeffrey Shu, MS
Research Associate II
Camille Simoneau
Graduate Student
Bharath Krishnan Nair Sreekumar, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Stephanie Stephens
Research Associate I
Takako Tabata
Research Scientist
Taha Taha, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Sakshi Tomar, PhD
Visiting Postdoc
Chia-Lin Tsou, MS
Senior Research Associate
Albert Vallejo Gracia, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar
Yuan Zhou, MS
Bioinformatician I