Research output per year
Research output per year
Personal profile
Expertises
Virology? RNA? Bunyaviruses? Confocal microscopy
Main research areas
RNA viruses? MicroRNA? CRISPR? Pestiviruses? BVDV? HCV? CLIP
Current research
Our research focuses on pestiviruses which are viruses related to the human hepatitis C virus (HCV). Pestiviruses offer a platform to study the mechanisms that govern viral persistence in a safe and convenient way. Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV) is an important pathogen in cattle that causes significant economic losses to the livestock industry. By studying the virology of viruses such as BVDV we aim to better understand the biology of human and veterinary pathogens.
A specific area of interest is how the virus interacts with cellular microRNAs (miRNA). Studies have showed that miR-122, a cellular miRNA present only in the liver, is absolutely required for HCV proliferation. This interaction has emerged as a therapeutic target. Similarly, BVDV has been shown to bind miR-17 to the viral genome, and this interaction is crucial to the virus. Understanding the functional relation between cellular miRNAs and viral persistence will shed light on how drugs targeting RNA interactions could potentially be designed.
Potential conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest at the moment.
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics where Konstantinos Kokkonos is active. These topic labels come from the works of this person. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
- 1 Similar Profiles
Research output
- 1 Journal article
-
Evolutionary selection of pestivirus variants with altered or no microRNA dependency
Kokkonos, K. G., Fossat, N., Nielsen, L., Holm, C., Hepkema, W. M., Bukh, J. & Scheel, T. K. H., 4 Jun 2020, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 48, 10, p. 5555-5571 17 p., gkaa300.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review