Brennan Lab CVR
@brennanlab.bsky.social
Lab Account | PI: @bbrennan83 | 🔬 bunyavirus/vector interactions at @CVRinfo.bsky.social🏴🇬🇧🇱🇹🇹🇭🇪🇺🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Not for want of trying tho! Haha
September 18, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Not for want of trying tho! Haha
Happy to chat, drop me an email:
Ben.brennan@glasgow.ac.uk :)
Ben.brennan@glasgow.ac.uk :)
September 18, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Happy to chat, drop me an email:
Ben.brennan@glasgow.ac.uk :)
Ben.brennan@glasgow.ac.uk :)
Post 5/5 🧵
IMPACT: This transforms tick-borne disease research:
🎯 New drug targets
🎯 Understanding vector competence
🎯 Virus-tick evolution
Testing if mechanisms work across other tick viruses next.
👨🔬 collaborative project with @alf-castello.bsky.social and @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social
IMPACT: This transforms tick-borne disease research:
🎯 New drug targets
🎯 Understanding vector competence
🎯 Virus-tick evolution
Testing if mechanisms work across other tick viruses next.
👨🔬 collaborative project with @alf-castello.bsky.social and @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social
August 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Post 5/5 🧵
IMPACT: This transforms tick-borne disease research:
🎯 New drug targets
🎯 Understanding vector competence
🎯 Virus-tick evolution
Testing if mechanisms work across other tick viruses next.
👨🔬 collaborative project with @alf-castello.bsky.social and @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social
IMPACT: This transforms tick-borne disease research:
🎯 New drug targets
🎯 Understanding vector competence
🎯 Virus-tick evolution
Testing if mechanisms work across other tick viruses next.
👨🔬 collaborative project with @alf-castello.bsky.social and @alainkohlvirology.bsky.social
Post 4/5 🧵
SURPRISE: TOP3B knockdown had a weird effect:
Viral RNA levels: unchanged
Infectious particles: dramatically reduced
Suggests TOP3B helps maintain viral RNA conformation for proper packaging. Tick & human versions remarkably similar!
#lovevirology
SURPRISE: TOP3B knockdown had a weird effect:
Viral RNA levels: unchanged
Infectious particles: dramatically reduced
Suggests TOP3B helps maintain viral RNA conformation for proper packaging. Tick & human versions remarkably similar!
#lovevirology
August 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Post 4/5 🧵
SURPRISE: TOP3B knockdown had a weird effect:
Viral RNA levels: unchanged
Infectious particles: dramatically reduced
Suggests TOP3B helps maintain viral RNA conformation for proper packaging. Tick & human versions remarkably similar!
#lovevirology
SURPRISE: TOP3B knockdown had a weird effect:
Viral RNA levels: unchanged
Infectious particles: dramatically reduced
Suggests TOP3B helps maintain viral RNA conformation for proper packaging. Tick & human versions remarkably similar!
#lovevirology
Post 3/5 🧵
DISCOVERY: Virus systematically hijacks tick RNA machinery:
🔹 RNAi pathway: UP (tick defense)
🔹 Translation: UP (viral protein synthesis)
🔹 rRNA processing: DOWN (disrupts cell proteins)
18 proteins both changed activity AND bound viral nucleocapsid!
#bunyavirus
DISCOVERY: Virus systematically hijacks tick RNA machinery:
🔹 RNAi pathway: UP (tick defense)
🔹 Translation: UP (viral protein synthesis)
🔹 rRNA processing: DOWN (disrupts cell proteins)
18 proteins both changed activity AND bound viral nucleocapsid!
#bunyavirus
August 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Post 3/5 🧵
DISCOVERY: Virus systematically hijacks tick RNA machinery:
🔹 RNAi pathway: UP (tick defense)
🔹 Translation: UP (viral protein synthesis)
🔹 rRNA processing: DOWN (disrupts cell proteins)
18 proteins both changed activity AND bound viral nucleocapsid!
#bunyavirus
DISCOVERY: Virus systematically hijacks tick RNA machinery:
🔹 RNAi pathway: UP (tick defense)
🔹 Translation: UP (viral protein synthesis)
🔹 rRNA processing: DOWN (disrupts cell proteins)
18 proteins both changed activity AND bound viral nucleocapsid!
#bunyavirus
Post 2/5 🧵
METHOD: Using RNA interactome capture (RIC), we UV-crosslinks RNA-bound proteins to map the "RBPome" in infected vs healthy tick cells.
Challenge: Bunyavirus RNA lacks poly(A) tails, yet found enough "poly(A)-like" sequences to capture viral RNAs too!
#RNABiology #collaboration #Scitech
METHOD: Using RNA interactome capture (RIC), we UV-crosslinks RNA-bound proteins to map the "RBPome" in infected vs healthy tick cells.
Challenge: Bunyavirus RNA lacks poly(A) tails, yet found enough "poly(A)-like" sequences to capture viral RNAs too!
#RNABiology #collaboration #Scitech
August 13, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Post 2/5 🧵
METHOD: Using RNA interactome capture (RIC), we UV-crosslinks RNA-bound proteins to map the "RBPome" in infected vs healthy tick cells.
Challenge: Bunyavirus RNA lacks poly(A) tails, yet found enough "poly(A)-like" sequences to capture viral RNAs too!
#RNABiology #collaboration #Scitech
METHOD: Using RNA interactome capture (RIC), we UV-crosslinks RNA-bound proteins to map the "RBPome" in infected vs healthy tick cells.
Challenge: Bunyavirus RNA lacks poly(A) tails, yet found enough "poly(A)-like" sequences to capture viral RNAs too!
#RNABiology #collaboration #Scitech
Reposted by Brennan Lab CVR
Finally A BIG THANK YOU to all my co-authors, they made this long journey started in 2021 a bit smoother! Thanks to Scaturro lab, Kohl lab, @brennanlab.bsky.social, @quangu.bsky.social, and Dundee proteomics! And of course thanks to the Tick cell Biobank and Lesley for those tiny cells!
May 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Finally A BIG THANK YOU to all my co-authors, they made this long journey started in 2021 a bit smoother! Thanks to Scaturro lab, Kohl lab, @brennanlab.bsky.social, @quangu.bsky.social, and Dundee proteomics! And of course thanks to the Tick cell Biobank and Lesley for those tiny cells!