
Overview
overview
-
Hoshang Jehangir Unwalla obtained his Ph.D. at the National Institute of Immunology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India. He was recruited as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. John Rossi at the Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte CA. As a post-doctoral fellow, his research involved designing gene therapy approaches to suppress HIV replication. During his post-doctoral fellowship, he was awarded the prestigious Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) fellowship, one of the four awarded worldwide that cycle.
In 2008, he moved to the University of Miami as Research Assistant Professor, to develop a core facility for aptamers in Immunotherapy. Dr. Unwalla developed an interest in HIV and lung disease and in 2009 he branched his area of research to pulmonary medicine with a goal towards developing research projects in pulmonary complications in smokers and HIV patients. He has received funding from the American Lung Association (ALA) and Florida Department of Health and is currently funded by Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Defense to support his research.
research interests
-
Unwalla’s current research interests are primarily focused on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to Lung comorbidities in HIV smokers/nonsmokers. with a goal towards developing therapeutics to restore or arrest the decline of lung function in these diseases.
In aging HIV-infected populations comorbid diseases are important determinants of morbidity and mortality. Combination antiretroviral therapy has made HIV a treatable disease. However, HIV patients die of non-AIDS comorbidities almost a decade earlier that their non-HIV counterparts. Lung diseases such as COPD, pulmonary hypertension, and pneumonia are emerging as significant comorbidities in the HIV-infected population This is exacerbated in HIV patients who are addicted to nicotine and smoke tobacco. HIV-infected patients with an episode of pneumonia also often demonstrate a permanent decline in lung function. Pulmonary infection also induces recruitment and activation of immune cells leading to de novo infection of target cells and enhanced HIV replication. Thus, bacterial pneumonia can also contribute to HIV progression.
The etiology of HIV pneumonias is very similar to that observed in pneumonias associated with chronic airway diseases like cystic fibrosis and chronic bronchitis associated with smoking. Impaired mucociliary clearance is a hallmark of these diseases. HIV proteins and cigarette smoke suppress important components of the mucociliary clearance apparatus and TGF-beta signaling plays a prominent role in the process. The laboratory research focuses on understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms that lead to microbial colonization of the airways in HIV-infected patients and testing therapeutic leads to rescue MCC dysfunction in the context of HIV infection and CS with a long-term goal towards preventing recurrent lung infections in people living with HIV. Another focus of my laboratory is to determine the mechanism by which HIV proteins and cigarette smoke alter the microRNAome in the bronchial epithelium which in turn alters the mitochondrial homeostasis contributing to chronic inflammation characteristic of COPD. To accomplish these goals Unwalla’s laboratory is currently working on three different projects.
Role of TGF-b signaling in mucociliary dysfunction in smokers and COPD patients
Tracheobronchial mucociliary dysfunction in HIV patients
Developing aptamer-siRNA chimeras as therapeutics in airway diseases
Determine the effects of an HIV/smoke altered microRNAome on mitochondrial dynamics in bronchial epithelial cells and its impact in inflammation.
Scholarly & Creative Works
selected publications
-
Article
-
2022Dysregulation of mitochondrial complexes and dynamics by chronic cigarette smoke exposure Utilizing MitoQC reporter miceFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.mito.2022.01.003 Web of Science: 000787873200006
-
2021Gene-specific MicroRNA antagonism protects against HIV Tat and TGF-beta-mediated suppression of CFTR mRNA and functionFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112090 Web of Science: 000696926500002
-
2020Novel approaches of crispr-cas technology in airway diseasesFull Text via DOI: 10.1615/CritRevBiomedEng.2020034594
-
2019TGF-beta 1 increases viral burden and promotes HIV-1 latency in primary differentiated human bronchial epithelial cellsFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49056-6 Web of Science: 000483017100031
-
2019A guanylurea-functionalized conjugated polymer enables RNA interference in ex vivo human airway epitheliumFull Text via DOI: 10.1039/c9cc02856k Web of Science: 000474265200015
-
2019A Neutralizing Aptamer to TGFBR2 and miR-145 Antagonism Rescue Cigarette Smoke- and TGF-beta-Mediated CFTR ExpressionFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.11.017 Web of Science: 000457864300013
-
2018Cigarette smoke promotes HIV infection of primary bronchial epithelium and additively suppresses CFTR functionFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26095-z Web of Science: 000432655800009
-
2017HIV Infects Bronchial Epithelium and Suppresses Components of the Mucociliary Clearance ApparatusFull Text via DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169161 Web of Science: 000391641500059
-
2016Soluble adenylyl cyclase mediates hydrogen peroxide-induced changes in epithelial barrier functionFull Text via DOI: 10.1186/s12931-016-0329-4 Web of Science: 000369970400001
-
2015Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 and Cigarette Smoke Inhibit the Ability of beta(2)-Agonists to Enhance Epithelial PermeabilityFull Text via DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2013-0538OC Web of Science: 000347420300007
-
2012Albuterol Modulates Its Own Transepithelial Flux via Changes in Paracellular PermeabilityFull Text via DOI: 10.1165/rcmb.2011-0220OC Web of Science: 000302691900017
-
2012Screening effective target sites on mRNA: A ribozyme library approachFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-545-9_20
-
2010A dual function TAR Decoy serves as an anti-HIV siRNA delivery vehicleFull Text via DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-7-33 Web of Science: 000275509100002
-
2008Use of a U16 snoRNA-containing ribozyme library to identify ribozyme targets in HIV-1Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/mt.2008.54 Web of Science: 000256247500020
-
2007Potent knock down of HIV-1 replication by targeting HIV-1 Tat/Rev RNA sequences synergistically with catalytic RNA and DNAFull Text via DOI: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e3280118fb6 Web of Science: 000243418900004
-
2004Negative feedback inhibition of HIV-1 by TAT-inducible expression of siRNAFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/nbt1040 Web of Science: 000225638600029
-
2001Novel mono- and di-DNA-enzymes targeted to cleave TAT or TAT-REV RNA inhibit HIV-1 gene expressionFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/S0166-3542(01)00144-9 Web of Science: 000170169100004
-
2001Inhibition of HIV-1 gene expression by novel macrophage-tropic DNA enzymes targeted to cleave HIV-1 TAT/Rev RNAFull Text via DOI: 10.1042/0264-6021:3570147 Web of Science: 000169783500017
-
1998Targeted cleavage of HIV-1 envelope gene by a DNA enzyme and inhibition of HIV-1 envelope-CD4 mediated cell fusionFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/S0014-5793(98)00799-6 Web of Science: 000075165300021
-
-
Book Chapter
-
2019Chapter 17 Senescence-Associated Markers. 273-281.Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-813187-9.00017-2
-
2019Senescence-Associated Markers. 273-281.Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-813187-9.00017-2 Web of Science: 000488201100017
-
2018Chapter 6: Nanogels for Brain Drug Delivery. 94-108.Full Text via DOI: 10.1039/9781788010481-00094
-
2004Potential Therapeutic Applications of DNA Enzymes and siRNAs against Viral and Cellular Genes. 115-134.Full Text via DOI: 10.1201/9781420037890.ch7
-
-
Conference
-
2019
-
2017TGF-beta suppresses CFTR biogenesis and function by post-transcriptional gene silencing. S25-S25.Web of Science: 000414227700050
-
2016EFFECT OF TOBACCO SMOKE AND HIV INFECTION ON MUCOCILIARY CLEARANCE. S48-S48.Web of Science: 000377566000123
-
2015Tracheo-bronchial Mucociliary dysfunction in HIV patients. S106-S106.Web of Science: 000367554100130
-
2006In Search of an Effective Target: In Vivo Approach Using HIV-1 Specific siRNA and Ribozyme Libraries. S293-S294.Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2006.08.843 Web of Science: 000208933502158
-
Review
-
2020Role of Non-Coding RNAs in Lung Circadian Clock Related DiseasesFull Text via DOI: 10.3390/ijms21083013 Web of Science: 000535565300355
-
2019Aberrant MicroRNAomics in Pulmonary Complications: Implications in Lung Health and Diseases. 413-431.Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2019.09.007 Web of Science: 000500716400038
-
2018Aptamers in HIV research diagnosis and therapy. 327-337.Full Text via DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2017.1414131 Web of Science: 000431020300005
-
2015Mucociliary dysfunction in HIV and smoked substance abuseFull Text via DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01052 Web of Science: 000363809900001
Research
principal investigator on
- Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Therapeutics for Chronic Lung Inflammation in Smokers and in COPD awarded by Florida Department of Health 2021 - 2024
- Mechanisms of defective mitophagy and cellular senescence in HIV associated COPD awarded by National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute 2019 - 2022
- Novel approaches to Eliminating HIV Latency awarded by U.S. Department of Defense 2018 - 2022
- Lung comorbidities in HIV patients awarded by National Institute on Drug Abuse 2018 - 2022
- Tracheobronchial mucociliary dysfunction in HIV patients awarded by National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute 2016 - 2020
- Gene Silencing in Chronic Bronchitis and COPD awarded by Flight Attendant Medical Research Inst 2016 - 2020
- Restoring the Mucociliary clearance enhancing properties of inhaled beta-2-agonist bronchodilators in chronic bronchitis. awarded by Florida Department of Health 2014 - 2016
co-principal investigator on
investigator on
Contact
full name
- Hoshang Unwalla
Identifiers
ORCID iD
- https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5704-6876 (confirmed)
visualizations
publication subject areas
Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in