Clinical Interests

Izumiya and his laboratory study epigenetic gene regulation by using herpesvirus reactivation as a model system. Many viruses produce an acute infection in the human host and are then cleared by the immune system. However, other viruses, especially herpesvirus, remain in the infected person until death by producing a chronic latent infection. In latent infection, the herpesvirus hides from the immune system by silencing own gene expression and no infectious virus can be detected during latency. The virus can be reactivated with different external stimuli and will then activate hundreds of gene expression in cascade fashion; this provides us a compelling model to study movement and regulation from “silenced chromatin” to “active chromatin” of host genome.

Research/Academic Interests

Izumiya's lab is particularly interested in the epigenetic components of chromatin, including host and viral factors that interact to facilitate both the establishment and maintenance of the chromatin state as well as the molecular transitions that take place during reactivation. They explore how viruses hijacks host cellular mechanisms to replicate. This research also provides insights into both the post-translational modifications and chromatin remodeling that takes govern viral latency and reactivation. Moreover, such research may shed new information applicable to other areas of biology, such as cancer, development, and aging, where epigenetic regulation has been implicated.

Division

Dermatology

Center/Program Affiliation

UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center