Date of Completion
2025
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors
First Advisor
Dr. Vikas Anathy
Keywords
PKR, Influenza, ER Stress, Cytokine Storm, PERK Inhibition, Cytokine
Abstract
Influenza A viral (IAV) infections are a significant threat to public health, particularly due to the threat of intense immune response that can cause lung damage and secondary infections (Jiang & Zhang, 2023). As such, major areas of study, including viral replication and immune response, are crucial for developing molecules that target and limit the effect of infection. To address this, the Anathy laboratory is investigating the phosphorylation of PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein that triggers cytokine/chemokine production in response to ER stress during IAV infection. Inhibition of PERK could lead to a decrease in tissue damage/secondary infections; however, it is structurally similar to protein kinase R (PKR), a protein that detects viral infection by binding to viral RNA and initiates an early host cell response. Distinguishing PERK from PKR using selective inhibition is imperative for therapeutic specificity and immune response (Raven & Koromilas, 2008).
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Liebesman, Zachary C., "Specificity of GSK2606414 on PKR Function During Influenza Induced ER Stress" (2025). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 734.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/734
