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James W. Casey
Dr. Casey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology
and Immunology and has been associated with the department since 1988.
He received the BS degree in Biology from Wayne State University in
1966 and his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1973 studying Biology.
Dr. Casey was a post-doctoral fellow at Cal Tech from 1974-1980 where
he studied molecular virology in the laboratory of Norman Davidson. Research Interests / Graduate Fields / Lab Members / Related Links / Selected References
Research in the Casey lab focuses in two lines of investigation. Oncogenesis in wild populations, primarily in fish and marine turtles, is an understudied field that has provided new insights into viral agents responsible for this disease. Secondly, we have turned our attention to the recent outbreak of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHSV) in the great lakes an agent that is having a major impact on numerous species that inhabit these waters. 1. Viral Oncogenesis
Our work has focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which
the piscine retroviruses walleye dermal sarcoma (WDSV) and salmon swimbladder
sarcoma virus (SSSV) induce cancer. To accomplish this, we have begun
to developed transgenic zebrafish models in which retroviral genes with
proposed oncogenic activity and their corresponding promoters can be
assayed in a biologically relevant system. The established genetics
and genomic resources of the zebrafish system provide an attractive
model to understand the genetic pathways involved in documented cases
of tumor progression and regression of walleye dermal sarcoma (WDS).
2. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia In the summer of 2005 VHSV was diagnosed in a fish kill of freshwater
drum and from diseased muskellunge in the great lakes. VHSV is a highly
pathogenic rhabdovirus that can cause heavy losses in wild and cultured
fishes. Since then we (see Dr. Bowser’s page) identified VHSV
in ten additional species, signaling an early invasion in freshwater
fish that inhabit the Great Lakes. We have developed a qRT-PCR approach
to measure the prevalence of VHSV in fish and in water samples from
the Great Lakes Basin. Our long-term goal will be to identify VHSV carrier
fish and investigate the mechanisms of viral persistence. Dr. Casey is a member of the following Graduate Fields:
Selected References Quackenbush, S. L., R. N. Casey, R. J. Murcek, T. A. Paul, T. M. Work, C. J. Limpus, A. Chaves, L. duToit, A. Aguirre, T. R. Spraker, J. Vasconcelos Perez, L. A. Vermeer, J. A. Horrocks, G. H. Balazs, and J. W. Casey. (2001). Quantitative analysis of herpesvirus sequences from normal tissue and fibropapillomas of marine turtles using real-time PCR. Virology 287:105-111. Paul, T.A., J.C. Burns, H. Shike, R. Getchell, P.R. Bowser, K.E. Whitlock, and J.W. Casey. (2001). Reporter gene expression in fish following cutaneous infection with pantropic retroviral vectors. Mar. Biotechnol. 3: S81-S87. Greenblatt, R.J., S. L. Quackenbush, R. N. Casey, J. Rovnak, G. H.
Balazs , T.M. Work, J.W.Casey and Claudia A. Sutton. (2005). The Fibropapilloma
Associated Turtle Herpesvirus: ?-herpesvirus conservation and comparisons
across seven geographic Paul T.A., S.L. Quackenbush, C.A. Sutton, R.N. Casey, P.R. Bowser, and J.W. Casey. (2005). Identification and characterization of an exogenous retrovirus from Atlantic salmonswim bladder sarcomas. J. Virol. 80:2941-2948. Paul TA, Casey JW, Avery RJ, Sutton C.A. (2007). Expression of feline
immunodeficiency virus Vif is associated with reduced viral mutation
rates without restoration of replication of vif mutant viruses. Virology.
in press.
MicroImm
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