Postdoc Profile: Silvana Pasetto
Silvana PasettoMentor
Dr. Ramiro Murata
Education
Biology, B.S. Herminio Hometto Fundation (Brazil), 1989
Oral Biology and Pathology, M.S. State University of Campinas – UNICAMP (Brazil), 2000
Oral Biology, Ph.D. State University of Campinas – UNICAMP (Brazil), 2005
Pharmacology, Postdoctoral Studies University of Southern California – USAC; USA, 2013-2015
Research Summary
As the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and from the first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981, until today it remains one of the world’s most serious health problems. People with advanced HIV infection are vulnerable to life-threatening malignancies and opportunistic infections such as candidiasis. Candida albicans is a polymorphic fungus and a commensal microorganism that colonizes the human oral cavity in healthy people. Intriguingly, HIV-1 directly interacts with C. albicans and this interaction abrogates the production of HIV-1 by infected cells.
I am currently investigating how C. albicans modulates the HIV pathogenesis and thus how oral mycobiome contributes to the resistance to HIV infection seen in the oral cavity.
Specifically, the aim of this investigation is to elucidate the specific yeast-induced host cell-signaling pathways. Assess their effect on Tool-Like/Mannose/Dectin receptors, chemokines regulation and determine the mechanism whereby C. albicans acts against HIV-1.