Artem Arutyunov
Program: Neurosciences
Current advisor: Robyn S. Klein, MD, PhD
Undergraduate university: Moscow State University
Research summary
During my PhD in Dr. Robyn Klein’s laboratory, I studied the effects of aging on the pathogenesis of West Nile Virus (WNV) infection. Older individuals are much more likely to develop neuroinvasive disease following WNV infection compared to their younger counterparts, most of which are asymptomatic or experience a mild flu-like febrile illness. In collaboration with Dr. Michael Diamond’s laboratory at Washington University, we are trying to understand the mechanistic underpinnings mediating the severity of WNV disease in the elderly. Additionally, towards the end of my graduate studies, I focused on the interplay between immune system senescence and neuroinfectious disease, specifically looking at whether sustaining a neuroinflammatory insult earlier in life can accelerate senescence, with a particular focus on microglia. We found similar transcriptomic profiles arising in microglia subjected to WNV infection and those that aged naturally.
Taken together, this research has the potential to lead to better treatment and prevention of WNV infection and provide further insights into the mechanisms of immunosenescence, particularly in the central nervous system.
Graduate publications
Arutyunov A, Klein RS. 2023 Microglia at the scene of the crime: what their transcriptomics reveal about brain health. Curr Opin Neurol, 36(3):207-13.
Funk KE, Arutyunov AD, Desai P, White JP, Soung AL, Rosen SF, Diamond MS, Klein RS. 2021 Decreased antiviral immune response within the central nervous system of aged mice is associated with increased lethality of West Nile virus encephalitis. Aging Cell, 20(8):e13412.