S.D. Hudnall, Ph.D.Dr. Hudnall

Professor, Dept. of Pathology, Family Medicine and Dermatology, Scientist, Sealy Center for Molecular Medicine

shudnall@utmb.edu

Research Interests

My research laboratory is interested in identifying the strategies utilized by the human tumor gamma-herpes viruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8, KSHV) to persist in the human host lifelong by somehow subverting the host immune response. These two viruses are causally linked to several forms of human cancer. EBV is associated with lymphoma, carcinoma, and leiomyosarcoma, while HHV-8 is associated with lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma. These viruses utilize a number of clever strategies to persist in humans by avoiding the host immune response, ultimately leading to cell transformation and tumorigenesis. For example, both viruses encode genes that inhibit apoptosis, block T cell-mediated immunity, and induce cell proliferation. HHV-8 in particular is loaded with so-called cellular homolog genes such as vBCL-2 and vCyclin that induce an apoptosis-resistant and proliferative phenotype, resp. We have recently begun to focus upon two intriguing phenomena: 1) the mechanism by which malignant EBV-infected Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg B cells avoid EBV-specific T cell immunity, and 2) the role of herpesviruses in chronic inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Selected Publications

  1. Hudnall SD. Crazy Eight: Unraveling Herpesvirus 8 Seroprevalence. Clin Infect Dis 39: 1059-1061, 2004
  2. Ventura KC and Hudnall SD. Hematologic Differences in Heterophile-positive and Heterophile-negative Infectious Mononucleosis. Am J Hematol 76:1-4, 2004
  3. Hudnall SD, Chen T, Tyring SK. Species Identification of All Eight Human Herpesviruses with a single nested PCR Assay. J Virol Meth 116:19-26, 2004
  4. Zaharopoulos P, Hudnall SD. Nevus Cell Aggregates in Lymph Nodes: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytologic Findings and Resulting Diagnostic Difficulties. Diagn Cytopathol 31: 180-184, 2004
  5. Rady PL, Matalon R, Grady J, Smith EM, Hudnall SD, Kellner LH, Nitowsky H, Tyring SK, Hughes TK. Comprehensive analysis of genetic polymorphisms in the interleukin-10 promoter: Implications for immune regulation in specific ethnic populations. Genetic Testing 8:194-203, 2004
  6. Hudnall SD, Ge Y, Wei L, Wang H, Chen T. Distribution and Phenotype of Epstein-Barr Virus Infected Cells in Human Pharyngeal Tonsils. Mod Path 2004 (submitted)
  7. Hudnall SD, Chen T, Rady PL, Tyring SK, Allison P. Human Herpesvirus 8 seroprevalence and viral load from healthy adult blood donors. Transfusion 43:85-90, 2003
  8. Hudnall SD, Patel J, Schwab H, Martinez, J. Comparative Immunophenotypic Features of EBV-positive and EBV-negative Atypical Lymphocytosis. Cytometry 55B(1):22-8, 2003
  9. Hudnall SD, Chen T, Brown K, Angel T, Schwartz, M, Tyring SK. Human Herpesvirus 8 Positive Microvenular Hemangioma in POEMS Syndrome. Arch Pathol Lab Med 127:1034-36, 2003
  10. Rady PL, Szucs S, Grady J, Hudnall SD, Kellner LH, Nitowsky H, Tyring SK, Matalon RK. Genetic Polymorphisms of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) and Methionine Synthase Reductase (MTRR) in Ethnic Populations in Texas; a Report of a Novel MTHFR Polymorphic Site. G1793A. Am J Med Genet 107: 162, 2002