Konstantin Gus Kousoulas

The Mary Lou Martin Professor of Virology and Biotechnology and Veterinary Medicine

Director, Division of Biotechnology & Mol. Medicine (BIOMMED)

Laboratory:
BIOMMED

Phone: 225-578-9683
Fax: 225-578-9701
Email:vtgusk@lsu.edu; gkousoulas@vetmed.lsu.edu

Education:
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State Univ., Univ. Park, PA. Mol. & Cell Biol
M.S., Pennsylvania State Univ., Univ. Park, PA. Biophysics
B.S., Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ. Physics
Positions:

1982-1983 Postdoctoral Fellow of the American Cancer Society California Dept. of Health Berkeley, CA.
1983-1986 Postdoctoral Fellow in the US Public Health Service Program University of California, San Francisco, CA.
1983-1985 Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
1986-1987 Research Assistant Professor University of California, San Francisco, CA.
1988-1991 Assistant Professor of Virology LSU, School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM).
1991-1994 Associate Professor of Virology LSU, SVM. Dept. of Microbiol. & Parasitology
1994-Curr. Professor of Virology & Biotechnology LSU, SVM. Dept. of Pathobiological Sciences
2004-Curr. The Mary Lou Martin Professor of Virology LSU, SVM
2002-Curr. Director, Division of Biotechnology LSU, SVM. BIOMMED. & Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED)
2004-Curr. Director, COBRE Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research (CEIDR) LSU, Baton Rouge
2005-Curr. Director, Molecular & Cell Biol. Core Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) LSU, Baton Rouge
Dr. Kousoulas has a joint appointment in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Veterinary Science in the LSU Agricultural Experiment Station, LSU Agricultural Center. He is currently the recipient of the Mary Lou Martin Professorship in Veterinary Medicine. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Basic Sciences, and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Dr. Kousoulas teaches virology and biotechnology in the LSU undergraduate curiculum, in the veterinary medical curriculum and in the graduate programs in veterinary medical sciences and other LSU graduate courses which deal with virology and biotechnology. He has participated in a number of United States Department of Agriculture peer review panels in virology, and the National Institutes of Health including chairing multiple NIH special emphasis panels. Dr. Kousoulas founded in 1991 the Gene Probes and Expression Systems Laboratory "Gene Lab" in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences which serves Louisiana researchers as a support and resource facility for research in molecular and cellular biology. GeneLab is now part of the Division of Biotechnology & Molecular Medicine (BIOMMED) in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. BIOMMED is currently administering the LSU-Tulane Center for Experimental Infectious Disease Research funded by the NIH COBRE mechanism (http://www.labiomed.info) and the Molecular/Cell Biology Core of the Idea Network for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) funded by the NIH INBRE mechanism (http://www.lbrn.lsu.edu). Dr. Kousoulas participates in the Multidisciplinary Program in Infectious Disease.

Honors:

1972-1975 Honors Program,Phe Zeta Kappa Fairleigh Dickinson University
1974-1975 Phi Omega Epsilon; Magna Cum Laude Fairleigh Dickinson University (B.S. in Physics).
1990 Beecham Award for Research Excellence SVM, LSU.
1997 Aesculapian Lecturer SVM, LSU.
1999 Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award SVM, LSU.
1999 LSU Distinguished Faculty Award LSU. (for teaching excellence campus-wide).
1999 Certificate of Appreciation for Meritorious LSU. Service. Council on Research.
2000 The Paula and Milton Shephard Professorship SVM, LSU.
2001 Salutation for undergraduate teaching excellence College of Basic Sciences, LSU
Patents and Patent Applications:

Kousoulas, Konstantin G; Satterlee, Daniel G.; Fioretti, William C. Heterologous protein comprising avian alpha-subunit inhibin protein and methods of producing same. United States Patent 5,786,179. Issued on July 28, 1998
Fioretti, William C; Kousoulas, Konstantin G.; Satterlee, Daniel G. Fusion gene products encoding avian alpha subunit inhibin protein, or an immunogenic fragment thereof, and a carrier protein. United States Patent 5,747,659. Issued on May 5, 1998.
Fioretti,William C; Kousoulas, Konstantin G; Satterlee, Daniel G. Methods of enhancingproduction performance of birds comprising administration of heterologousprotein comprising avian alpha-subunit inhibin protein. United States Patent5,725,858.Issued onMarch 10, 1998.
Emanuele,Martin R.; Newman, M.; Kousoulas, Konstantin G.; Allaudeen Haeedsulthan, S.Therapeutic delivery compositions and methods of use thereof. Issued on August23, 2005. United States Patent6,933,286
Kousoulas, Konstantin G.; Chouljenko, Vladimir N.; Baghian, Abolgasem; Tully, Thomas N., Jr. Vaccines for Chlamydia psittaci infections. Unites States Patent 6,605,287. Issued on August 12, 2003.
Major areas of interests:

My primary research interests are focused on the molecular biology and pathogenesis of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) and human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) or Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV). Specifically, I seek to define the molecular mechanisms that control attachment and penetration of these viruses into susceptible cells (including cells of neuronal origin for HSV), their ability to replicate and spread from cell to cell, and the role of membrane fusion events in intracellular virion transport and egress. Our experimental approach utilizes advanced molecular biology, molecular genetics and cell biology. Briefly, mutant herpesviruses deficient in a particular function are isolated through generalized mutagenesis, site-specific mutagenesis of viral genomes cloned into bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC).These engineered viruses are studied to learn about the role of specific virus encoded proteins in host cell attachment, penetration, virus induced cell fusion virion assembly and egress. To analyze the role of specific viral genes in virus penetration and virus-induced cell fusion these genes are expressed in transient, eukaryotic expression systems and the expressed proteins are detected using specific monoclonal antibodies produced in my laboratory. In addition, monoclonal and monospecific sera against viral proteins are utilized to locate their target proteins in infected cells using confocal and immunoelectron microscopy and to analyze their structure and function. A major finding from our studies has implicated multiple protein-protein interactions among viral membrane proteins of both HSV-1 and KSHV in regulation of virus-induced membrane fusion phenomena. Similarly, multiple interactions among membrane proteins and tegument proteins have been found to regulate cytoplasmic virion envelopment. A second major interest of my laboratory is the molecular biology and pathogenesis of human and bovine coronaviruses. We have derived and compared the entire genomic nucleotide sequence of several respiratory and enteric bovine coronaviruses and identified specific nucleotide changes, which may be associated with virus tropism. Currently, we are in the final steps of assembling an infectious cDNA of BCV and SARS coronavirus using BAC plasmids. Future experimentation will involve the use of the infectious cDNAs to investigate the molecular determinants of these viruses responsible for their infectivity and spread and their ability to cause virus-induced cell fusion. A third major interest of my laboratory is the production of vaccines for West Nile virus, herpes B virus and Simian Retrovirus-5 using vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and adenovirus-based vectors. This work is carried out in collaboration with the Tulane National Research Primate Center. Other interests include: the application of DNA based methods for the diagnosis of infectious disease pathogens and genetic diseases of humans and animals, biophysical and genetic approaches to analyze the structure and function of proteins, the use of viruses for gene therapy and vaccine purposes, and the utilization of computers for biological research and teaching.

Teaching Philosophy:

We live in an era that demands change in the way teaching of molecular biology, biotechnology and related disciplines is performed for undergraduate, medical and veterinary and graduate level courses. The rapid growth of molecular biological knowledge is itself a powerful force for change. Biotechnology is heavily dependent on molecular biology and genetic principles as well as increasingly focusing on concepts that cut across scientific fields including chemistry, physics, mathematics and information science. I believe that classroom and laboratory instruction need to adapt to these changing times by emphasizing flexibility, critical thinking and problem solving in an interactive and friendly environment that places students and faculty as partners working side-by-side in learning

Recent Publications:

Melancon, J. M, P. Fulmer and K. G. Kousoulas. 2005. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL11 protein functions in a step preceding and independent of the role of UL20p in cytoplasmic virion envelopment (In preparation).

Roy M, Reiland J, Murry BP, Chouljenko V, Kousoulas KG, Marchetti D. 2005. Antisense-mediated suppression of Heparanase gene inhibits melanoma cell invasion. Neoplasia. 7:253-62.

Petit C., J. M. Melancon, V. N. Chouljenko, M. Farzan, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2005. Genetic analysis of the SARS-coronavirus spike glycoprotein functional domains involved in cell-surface expression and cell-to-cell fusion. Virology 341:215-230.

Melancon, J. M., R. E. Luna, T. P. Foster, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2005. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) glycoprotein K is required for gB-mediated Virus-Induced Cell Fusion, while neither gB and gK nor gB and UL20p are function redundantly in virion-de-envelopment. J Virol 79:299-313.

Foster, T. P., J. M. Melancon, and T. L. Olivier, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2004. Herpes simplex virus type-1 glycoprotein K (gK) and the UL20 protein are interdependent for intracellular trafficking and trans-Golgi network localization. J Virol 78:13262-77.

Melancon, J. M., T. P. Foster, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2004. Genetic analysis of the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) UL20 protein domains involved in cytoplasmic virion envelopment and virus-induced cell fusion. J Virol 78: 7329-43.

Luna, R. E., F. Zhou, A. Baghian, V. Chouljenko, B. Forghani, S. J. Gao, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2004. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus glycoprotein K8.1 Is dispensable for virus entry. J Virol 78:6389-98.

Foster, T. P., J. M. Melancon, J. D. Baines, and K. G. Kousoulas. 2004. The Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 UL20 Protein Modulates Membrane Fusion Events during Cytoplasmic Virion Morphogenesis and Virus-Induced Cell Fusion. J Virol 78:5347-57.

Foster T. P., G. V. Rybachuk, X. Alvarez, O. Borkhsenious, and K. G. Kousoulas. Inhibition of virion egress and virus-induced cell fusion in gK-transformed cells is due to a gK-mediated block of viral glycoprotein transport at the endoplasmic reticulum. 2003. Virology. 317: 237-252.

Coker, P. R., K. L. Smith, P. F. Fellows, G. Rybachuck, K. G. Kousoulas, and M. E. Hugh-Jones. 2003. Bacillus anthracis Virulence in Guinea Pigs Vaccinated with Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed Is Linked to Plasmid Quantities and Clonality. J Clin Microbiol 41:1212-1218.

Foster T. P., X. Alvarez, and K. G. Kousoulas. Plasma membrane topology of syncytial domains of Herpes Simplex Virus Type I glycoprotein K (gK): The UL20 protein enables cell surface localization of gK, but not gK-mediated cell-to-cell fusion. 2003. J Virol 77:499-510 (Cover of the Journal).