Koh Fujinaga, PhD

Associate Professor

My main research interest is understanding the regulatory mechanism of eukaryotic gene expression. I have studied HIV transcription as a model system. However, my research topics are not limited to HIV and AIDS. The elongation control of HIV transcritpion which I have been studying during the past two decades is now recognized as a common regulatory mechanism in most cellular gene transcription. Since transcriptional regulation plays a central role in most biological pathways and diseases, I began to study the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation and misregulation in various diseases including cardiac hypertrophy, cancers such as breast cancer, leukemia and lymphoma, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Education

Postdoctoral Studies, - Graduate Division, University of California, San Francisco

Publications

Fujinaga K, Cary DC. Experimental Systems for Measuring HIV Latency and Reactivation. 2020. PMID: 33182414
Kong W, Biswas A, Zhou D, Fiches G, Fujinaga K, Santoso N, Zhu J. Nucleolar protein NOP2/NSUN1 suppresses HIV-1 transcription and promotes viral latency by competing with Tat for TAR binding and methylation. 2020. PMID: 32176734
Fujinaga K. P-TEFb as A Promising Therapeutic Target. 2020. PMID: 32075058
Krasnopolsky S, Marom L, Victor RA, Kuzmina A, Schwartz JC, Fujinaga K, Taube R. Fused in sarcoma silences HIV gene transcription and maintains viral latency through suppressing AFF4 gene activation. 2019. PMID: 31238957
Bugai A, Quaresma AJC, Friedel CC, Lenasi T, Düster R, Sibley CR, Fujinaga K, Kukanja P, Hennig T, Blasius M, Geyer M, Ule J, Dölken L, Barboric M. P-TEFb Activation by RBM7 Shapes a Pro-survival Transcriptional Response to Genotoxic Stress. 2019. PMID: 30824372
Leoz M, Kukanja P, Luo Z, Huang F, Cary DC, Peterlin BM, Fujinaga K. HEXIM1-Tat chimera inhibits HIV-1 replication. 2018. PMID: 30395647
Asamitsu K, Fujinaga K, Okamoto T. HIV Tat/P-TEFb Interaction: A Potential Target for Novel Anti-HIV Therapies. 2018. PMID: 29673219
Huang F, Shao W, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Bromodomain-containing protein 4-independent transcriptional activation by autoimmune regulator (AIRE) and NF-?B. 2018. PMID: 29463681
Contreras-Galindo R, Dube D, Fujinaga K, Kaplan MH, Markovitz DM. Susceptibility of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Type K to Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors. 2017. PMID: 28931682
Peterlin BM, Liu P, Wang X, Cary D, Shao W, Leoz M, Hong T, Pan T, Fujinaga K. Hili Inhibits HIV Replication in Activated T Cells. 2017. PMID: 28331090
Cary DC, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Euphorbia Kansui Reactivates Latent HIV. 2016. PMID: 27977742
Shao W, Zumer K, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. FBXO3 Protein Promotes Ubiquitylation and Transcriptional Activity of AIRE (Autoimmune Regulator). 2016. PMID: 27365398
Tan JL, Fogley RD, Flynn RA, Ablain J, Yang S, Saint-André V, Fan ZP, Do BT, Laga AC, Fujinaga K, Santoriello C, Greer CB, Kim YJ, Clohessy JG, Bothmer A, Pandell N, Avagyan S, Brogie JE, van Rooijen E, Hagedorn EJ, Shyh-Chang N, White RM, Price DH, Pandolfi PP, Peterlin BM, Zhou Y, Kim TH, Asara JM, Chang HY, Young RA, Zon LI. Stress from Nucleotide Depletion Activates the Transcriptional Regulator HEXIM1 to Suppress Melanoma. 2016. PMID: 27058786
Barboric M, Fujinaga K. The two sides of Tat. 2016. PMID: 26783762
Cary DC, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Molecular mechanisms of HIV latency. 2016. PMID: 26731470
Pak V, Eifler TT, Jäger S, Krogan NJ, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. CDK11 in TREX/THOC Regulates HIV mRNA 3' End Processing. 2015. PMID: 26567509
Darcis G, Kula A, Bouchat S, Fujinaga K, Corazza F, Ait-Ammar A, Delacourt N, Melard A, Kabeya K, Vanhulle C, Van Driessche B, Gatot JS, Cherrier T, Pianowski LF, Gama L, Schwartz C, Vila J, Burny A, Clumeck N, Moutschen M, De Wit S, Peterlin BM, Rouzioux C, Rohr O, Van Lint C. An In-Depth Comparison of Latency-Reversing Agent Combinations in Various In Vitro and Ex Vivo HIV-1 Latency Models Identified Bryostatin-1+JQ1 and Ingenol-B+JQ1 to Potently Reactivate Viral Gene Expression. 2015. PMID: 26225566
Fujinaga K, Luo Z, Schaufele F, Peterlin BM. Visualization of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) activation in living cells. 2014. PMID: 25492871
Eifler TT, Shao W, Bartholomeeusen K, Fujinaga K, Jäger S, Johnson JR, Luo Z, Krogan NJ, Peterlin BM. Cyclin-dependent kinase 12 increases 3' end processing of growth factor-induced c-FOS transcripts. Volume 35 of Issue 2. 2014. PMID: 25384976
Fujinaga K, Luo Z, Peterlin BM. Genetic analysis of the structure and function of 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) in cells. 2014. PMID: 24917669
Jadlowsky JK, Wong JY, Graham AC, Dobrowolski C, Devor RL, Adams MD, Fujinaga K, Karn J. Negative elongation factor is required for the maintenance of proviral latency but does not induce promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II on the HIV long terminal repeat. 2014. PMID: 24636995
Liu P, Xiang Y, Fujinaga K, Bartholomeeusen K, Nilson KA, Price DH, Peterlin BM. Release of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) from 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) activates hexamethylene bisacetamide-inducible protein (HEXIM1) transcription. 2014. PMID: 24515107
Koen Bartholomeeusen, Yanhui Xiang, Koh Fujinaga, B. Matija Peterlin. Bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibition activate transcription via transient release of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) from 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein. 2013. PMID:
Bartholomeeusen K, Fujinaga K, Xiang Y, Peterlin BM. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) that release the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) from its inhibitory complex also activate HIV transcription. 2013. PMID: 23539624
Bartholomeeusen K, Xiang Y, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain inhibition activate transcription via transient release of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) from 7SK small nuclear ribonucleoprotein. 2012. PMID: 22952229
Fujinaga K, Barboric M, Li Q, Luo Z, Price DH, Peterlin BM. PKC phosphorylates HEXIM1 and regulates P-TEFb activity. 2012. PMID: 22821562
Kuzmina A, Hadad U, Fujinaga K, Taube R. Functional characterization of a human cyclin T1 mutant reveals a different binding surface for Tat and HEXIM1. 2012. PMID: 22342181
Toossi Z, Wu M, Hirsch CS, Mayanja-Kizza H, Baseke J, Aung H, Canaday DH, Fujinaga K. Activation of P-TEFb at sites of dual HIV/TB infection, and inhibition of MTB-induced HIV transcriptional activation by the inhibitor of CDK9, Indirubin-3'-monoxime. 2011. PMID: 21453127
Van Grol J, Subauste C, Andrade RM, Fujinaga K, Nelson J, Subauste CS. HIV-1 inhibits autophagy in bystander macrophage/monocytic cells through Src-Akt and STAT3. 2010. PMID: 20661303
Imai K, Asamitsu K, Victoriano AF, Cueno ME, Fujinaga K, Okamoto T. Cyclin T1 stabilizes expression levels of HIV-1 Tat in cells. 2009. PMID: 20064163
Jadlowsky JK, Nojima M, Okamoto T, Fujinaga K. Dominant negative mutant cyclin T1 proteins that inhibit HIV transcription by forming a kinase inactive complex with Tat. 2008. PMID: 18931076
Ogba N, Chaplin LJ, Doughman YQ, Fujinaga K, Montano MM. HEXIM1 regulates 17beta-estradiol/estrogen receptor-alpha-mediated expression of cyclin D1 in mammary cells via modulation of P-TEFb. 2008. PMID: 18757415
Nojima M, Huang Y, Tyagi M, Kao HY, Fujinaga K. The positive transcription elongation factor b is an essential cofactor for the activation of transcription by myocyte enhancer factor 2. 2008. PMID: 18662700
Jadlowsky JK, Nojima M, Schulte A, Geyer M, Okamoto T, Fujinaga K. Dominant negative mutant cyclin T1 proteins inhibit HIV transcription by specifically degrading Tat. 2008. PMID: 18620576
Anand K, Schulte A, Fujinaga K, Scheffzek K, Geyer M. Cyclin box structure of the P-TEFb subunit cyclin T1 derived from a fusion complex with EIAV tat. 2007. PMID: 17540406
Wittmann BM, Fujinaga K, Deng H, Ogba N, Montano MM. The breast cell growth inhibitor, estrogen down regulated gene 1, modulates a novel functional interaction between estrogen receptor alpha and transcriptional elongation factor cyclin T1. 2005. PMID: 15940264
Fujinaga K, Irwin D, Huang Y, Taube R, Kurosu T, Peterlin BM. Dynamics of human immunodeficiency virus transcription: P-TEFb phosphorylates RD and dissociates negative effectors from the transactivation response element. 2004. PMID: 14701750
Fujinaga K, Irwin D, Taube R, Zhang F, Geyer M, Peterlin BM. A minimal chimera of human cyclin T1 and tat binds TAR and activates human immunodeficiency virus transcription in murine cells. 2002. PMID: 12438619
Fujinaga K, Irwin D, Geyer M, Peterlin BM. Optimized chimeras between kinase-inactive mutant Cdk9 and truncated cyclin T1 proteins efficiently inhibit Tat transactivation and human immunodeficiency virus gene expression. 2002. PMID: 12368330
Tobiume M, Fujinaga K, Suzuki S, Komoto S, Mukai T, Ikuta K. Extracellular Nef protein activates signal transduction pathway from Ras to mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades that leads to activation of human immunodeficiency virus from latency. 2002. PMID: 11958689
Lin X, Taube R, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. P-TEFb containing cyclin K and Cdk9 can activate transcription via RNA. 2002. PMID: 11884399
Lind KE, Du Z, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM, James TL. Structure-based computational database screening, in vitro assay, and NMR assessment of compounds that target TAR RNA. 2002. PMID: 11880033
Taube R, Lin X, Irwin D, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Interaction between P-TEFb and the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II activates transcriptional elongation from sites upstream or downstream of target genes. 2002. PMID: 11739744
Barboric M, Taube R, Nekrep N, Fujinaga K, Peterlin BM. Binding of Tat to TAR and recruitment of positive transcription elongation factor b occur independently in bovine immunodeficiency virus. 2000. PMID: 10846086
Taube R, Fujinaga K, Irwin D, Wimmer J, Geyer M, Peterlin BM. Interactions between equine cyclin T1, Tat, and TAR are disrupted by a leucine-to-valine substitution found in human cyclin T1. 2000. PMID: 10623752
Taube R, Fujinaga K, Wimmer J, Barboric M, Peterlin BM. Tat transactivation: a model for the regulation of eukaryotic transcriptional elongation. 1999. PMID: 10562489
Wimmer J, Fujinaga K, Taube R, Cujec TP, Zhu Y, Peng J, Price DH, Peterlin BM. Interactions between Tat and TAR and human immunodeficiency virus replication are facilitated by human cyclin T1 but not cyclins T2a or T2b. 1999. PMID: 10049833
Fujinaga K, Taube R, Wimmer J, Cujec TP, Peterlin BM. Interactions between human cyclin T, Tat, and the transactivation response element (TAR) are disrupted by a cysteine to tyrosine substitution found in mouse cyclin T. 1999. PMID: 9990016
Fujinaga K, Cujec TP, Peng J, Garriga J, Price DH, Graña X, Peterlin BM. The ability of positive transcription elongation factor B to transactivate human immunodeficiency virus transcription depends on a functional kinase domain, cyclin T1, and Tat. 1998. PMID: 9696809
Cujec TP, Okamoto H, Fujinaga K, Meyer J, Chamberlin H, Morgan DO, Peterlin BM. The HIV transactivator TAT binds to the CDK-activating kinase and activates the phosphorylation of the carboxy-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II. 1997. PMID: 9334327