Research

Viruses are among the most successful pathogens that co-existed with the hosts by maintaining a precarious balance between the two for their successful existence. Being predatory in nature, viruses are constantly in the pursuit of survival, and thus, there exists a constant struggle for endurance between the viruses and their hosts: viruses pursue the host for their propagation, and the hosts, on the other hand, defy the viral intrusions owing to their well-developed and interconnected network of innate and adaptive immune defense mechanisms. Our laboratory focuses on these assiduous struggles between viruses and the immune system, in particular between viruses and the complement system.

Model of sCCPH (HVS complement regulator) and SPICE (variola virus complement regulator) showing 'hot spots' important for complement regulation.

Viral complement evasion

The complement system is an ancient mechanism of immunological defense that evolved to perform surveillance and protect the host from all the pathogenic non-self targets, including viruses. Although viruses are small and have relatively simple structures, both acute and latent viruses can be efficiently recognized and neutralized by the complement system. Thus, to combat host responses and succeed as pathogens, along with other immune evasion mechanisms, viruses must also develop principles to elude the host complement system. Consistent with this premise, genome sequencing of pox and herpesviruses has shown that these viruses encode for homologs of the human complement regulators. Our laboratory has shown that the homolog encoded by Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is functional, and we named it Kaposica. In addition, we and others have also shown that complement regulators encoded by KSHV and other viruses (vaccinia virus, variola virus, and Herpesvirus saimiri) inhibit complement by targeting the C3-convertases. Our group has also contributed to mapping the functional domains, determinants, and species specificity of these viral proteins. Our studies revealed that the ‘functional blocks’ required for complement regulatory activities in the viral regulators are conserved in the human regulators as well, and this led to the construction of a dual-activity human DAF-MCP chimera. Currently, studies in our laboratory are directed towards understanding the role of virally encoded complement regulators in viral pathogenesis.

Mapping of the functional sites in C3b-Kaposica (Kapo)-factor I trimolecular complex. (A) Model of C3b-Kapo-factor I trimolecular complex. C3b (cyan) and Kapo (gray) are represented by solid surface, whereas factor I is represented by cartoon (olive). Residues of Kapo that affect its activity are labeled in orange and pink. (B) Zoomed view of C3b interaction sites (orange) of Kapo. C3b domains are represented by cartoon (cyan). (C) Footprint of Kapo interaction sites on C3b. The footprints are seen in MG2 and CUB domains in C3b. (D) Zoomed view of factor I contact sites (pink) of Kapo.

Role of complement during viral infections

Initially, for many decades, it was believed that the complement system targets pathogens owing to its direct effect on them. But we now know that complement also boosts the acquired immune system. Specifically, it was shown that coupling of the complement fragment to antigen lowers the threshold of B cell activation as well as prolongs antigen retention by the FDCs. In addition, complement also participates in priming of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells by stimulation of the complement receptor-mediated signalling in T cells as well as affecting the antigen-presenting cell function. Intriguingly, recent findings have shown that complement activation occurs even intracellularly, signifying likely cross-talks of the complement system with many other cellular pathways. Thus, work in our laboratory focuses on understanding the role of intact complement as well as individual pathways during viral infections. Our lab showed that synergy between the classical and alternative pathways is critical for providing effective protection against the pandemic influenza A(H1N1)2009 virus infection. Further, our data indicated that complement synthesized by the splenic B cells and C3a receptor-mediated signalling plays a major role in providing the protection. Currently, our lab is using both in vivo and in vitro approaches to further dissect the immunological basis of protection provided by the complement system against viral infections.

Model for the interplay between classical and alternative pathways during A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infection.

Publications

Selected Publications    Publications    Patents

Selected Publications

All Publications

Shende, R., Wong, S.S.W., Meitei, H.T., Lal, G., Madan, T., Aimanianda, V., Pal J.K., Sahu, A. (2022) Protective role of host complement system in Aspergillus fumigatus infection. Front. Immunol. 13:978152. PMID: 31036650 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.978152

Mastellos, D.C., Ricklin, D., Sfyroera, G., Sahu, A. (2022) From discovery to approval: A brief history of the compstatin family of complement C3 inhibitors. Clin. Immunol., 235: 1-5. PMID: 34147650 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2021.108785

Ghate, A.*, Sharma, S.*, Agrawal, P. and Sahu, A. (2021) Differential expression of complement receptors CR1/2 and CR4 by murine M1 and M2 macrophages. Mol. Immunol., 137: 75-83. PMID: 34229135 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2021.06.003

Sinha, A., Singh, A.K., Kadni, T.S., Mullick, J., Sahu, A. (2021) Virus-Encoded Complement Regulators: Current Status. Viruses, 13, 208. PMID: 33573085 DOI: 10.3390/v13020208

Nawadkar, R., Dravid, A., Paprunia, U., Lewis, R., Kojima, K., Abraham, P., and Sahu, A. (2021) Case report of laboratory-acquired vaccinia virus infection in India. Weekly Epidemiological Record – WHO, 96 (5/6): 33-44.

Narkhede, Y.B., Gautam, A.K., Hsu, R.V., Rodriguez, W., Zewde, N.T., Harrison, R.E., Arantes, P.R., Gaieb, Z., Gorham Jr, R.D., Kieslich, C., Morikis, D., Sahu, A., Palermo, G. (2021) Role of electrostatic hotspots in the selectivity of complement control proteins toward human and bovine complement inhibition. Front. Mol. Biosci. 8:618068. PMID: 33829039 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.618068

Agrawal, P., Sharma, S., Pal, P., Ojha, H., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2020) The imitation game: a viral strategy to subvert the complement system. FEBS Letters, 594: 2518–2542. PMID: 32506518 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13856

Maitra, A., Raghav, S., Dalal, A., Ali, F., Paynter, V.M., Paul, D., Biswas, N.K., Ghosh, A., Jani, K., Chinnaswamy, S., Pati, S., Sahu, A., Mitra, D., Bhat, M.K., Mayor, S., Sarin, A., The PAN-INDIA 1000 SARS-CoV-2 RNA Genome Sequencing Consortium, Shouche, Y.S., Seshasayee, A.S.N., Palakodeti, D., Bashyam, M.D., Parida, A., and Das, S. (2020) PAN-INDIA 1000 SARS-CoV-2 RNA Genome Sequencing Reveals Important Insights into the Outbreak. bioRxiv 2020.08.03.233718. DOI: 10.1101/2020.08.03.233718

Paul, D., Jani, K., Kumar, J., Chauhan, R., Seshadri, V., Lal, G. Karyakarte, R., Joshi, S. Tambe, M., Sen, S., Karade, S., Anand, K.B., Shergill, S.P.S., Gupta, R.M., Bhat, M.K., Sahu, A., Shouche, Y.S. (2020) Phylogenomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes from western India reveals unique linked mutations. bioRxiv 2020.07.30.228460. DOI: 10.1101/2020.07.30.228460

Panwar, H.S., Ojha, H., Ghosh, P., Barage, S.H., Raut, S. and Sahu, A. (2019) Molecular engineering of an efficient four-domain DAF-MCP chimera reveals the presence of functional modularity in RCA proteins, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 116(20): 9953-9958. PMID: 31036650 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1818573116

Ojha, H., Ghosh, P., Panwar, H.S., Shende, R., Gondane, A., Mande, S.C. and Sahu, A. (2019) Spatially conserved motifs in complement control protein domains determine functionality in regulators of complement activation-family proteins, Commun. Biol., 2:290: 1-12. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-019-0529-9

Kumar, A., Phulera, S., Rizvi, A., Sonawane, P.J., Panwar, H.S. Banerjee, S., Sahu, A. and Mande, S.C. (2019) Structural basis of hypoxic gene regulation by the Rv0081 transcription factor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, FEBS Letters, 593(9): 982-995. PMID: 30941756 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.13375

Puraswani, M., Khandelwal, P., Saini, H., Saini, S., Gurjar, B.S., Sinha, A., Shende, R.P. et al. (2019) Clinical and immunological profile of anti-factor H antibody associated atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome: A nationwide database, Front. Immunol., 10:1282: 1-12. PMID: 31231391 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01282

Shende, R., Wong, S.S.W., Rapole, S., Beau, R., Ibrahim-Granet, O., Monod, M., Gührs, K-H, Pal, J.K., Latgé, J-P., Madan, T., Aimanianda, V. and Sahu, A. (2018) Aspergillus fumigatus conidial metalloprotease Mep1p cleaves host complement proteins, J. Biol. Chem., 293(40): 15538–15555. PMID: 30139746 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.RA117.001476

Gurjar, B., Sriharsha, T., Bhasym, A., Prabhu, S., Puraswani, M., Khandelwal, P., Saini, H., Saini, S., Verma, A., Chatterjee, P., Guchhait, P., Bal, V., George, A., Rath, S., Sahu, A., Sharma, A., Hari, P., Sinha, A., Bagga, A. (2018) Characterization of genetic predisposition and autoantibody profile in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, Immunology, 154: 663–672. PMID: 29485195 DOI: 10.1111/imm.12916

Wong, S.S.W., Rani, M., Dodagatta-Marri, E., Ibrahim-Granet, O., Kishore, U., Bayry, J., Latgé, J-P, Sahu, A., Madan, T. and Aimanianda, V. (2018) Fungal melanin stimulates surfactant protein D-mediated opsonization of and host immune response to Aspergillus fumigatus spores, J. Biol. Chem., 293(13): 4901-4912. PMID: 29414772 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M117.815852

Rattan, A., Pawar, S.D., Nawadkar, R., Kulkarni, N., Lal, G., Mullick, J., and Sahu, A. (2017) Synergy between the classical and alternative pathways of complement is essential for conferring effective protection against the pandemic influenza A(H1N1) 2009 virus infection, PLoS Pathog, 13(3): 1-26. PMID: 28301559 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006

Agrawal,P., Nawadkar, R., Ojha, H., Kumar, J. and Sahu, A. (2017) Complement evasion strategies of viruses: an overview, Front. Microbiol., 8: 1-19. PMID: 28670306 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01117

Kumar, J., Yadav, V.N., Phulera, S., Kamble, A., Gautam, A.K., Panwar, H.S. and Sahu, A. (2017) Species specificity of vaccinia virus complement control protein towards bovine classical pathway is governed primarily by direct interaction of its acidic residues with factor I., J. Virol., 91(19): e00668-17. PMID: 28724763 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00668-17

Khuperkar, D., Kamble, A., Singh, A., Ghate, A., Nawadkar, R. Sahu, A. and Joseph, J. (2017) Selective recruitment of nucleoporins on vaccinia virus factories and the role of Nup358 in viral infection, Virology, 512: 151–160. PMID: 28963881 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2017.09.0

Gautam, A.K., Panse, Y., Reza, J.M, Mullick, J. Ghosh,P., and Sahu, A. (2015) Mutational analysis of Kaposica reveals that bridging of MG2 and CUB domains of target protein is crucial for the cofactor activity of RCA proteins, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 112(41): 12794-9. PMID: 26420870 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1506449112

Ojha, H., Panwar, H.S., Gorham Jr., R.D., Morikis, D. and Sahu, A. (2014) Viral regulators of complement activation: structure, function and evolution, Mol Immunol, 61: 89-99. PMID: 24976595 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2014.06

Reza, M.J, Kamble, A., Ahmad, M., Krishnasastry, M.V. and Sahu, A. (2013) Dissection of functional sites in Herpesvirus saimiri complement control protein homolog, J Virol, 87(1): 282-295. PMID: 23077301 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01867-12

Rattan, A., Kasbe, R., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2013) The complement system as a viral target for immune evasion, Chapter 1 In Microbial Pathogenesis: Infection and Immunity U Kishore and A Nayak, editors Landes Bi, pp: 1-27.

Yadav, V. N., Pyaram, K., Ahmad, M. and Sahu, A. (2012) Species selectivity in poxviral complement regulators is dictated by the charge reversal in the central complement control protein modules, J Immunol, 189(3): 1431-1439. PMID: 22732591 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1200946

Dinasarapu, A.R., Chandrasekhar, A., Sahu, A., and Subramaniam, S. (2012) Complement C3, UCSD-Nature Molecule Pages, : -. DOI: 106072/H0MPA00423501

Bernet, J., Ahmad, M., Mullick, J., Panse, Y., Singh, A.K., Parab, P.B. and Sahu, A. (2011) Disabling complement regulatory activities of vaccinia virus complement control protein reduces vaccinia virus pathogenicity, Vaccine, 29(43): 7435-43. PMID: 21803094 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.07

Pyaram, K., Kieslich, C.A., Yadav, V.N., Morikis, D. and Sahu, A. (2010) Influence of electrostatics on the complement regulatory functions of Kaposica, the complement inhibitor of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, J Immunol, 184(4): 1956-1967. PMID: 20089702 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0903261

Kadam, A.P. and Sahu, A. (2010) Identification of Complin, a novel complement inhibitor that targets complement proteins factor B and C2, J Immunol, 184(12): 7116-7124. PMID: 20483772 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1000200

Ahmad, M., Raut, S., Pyaram, K., Kamble, A., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2010) Domain swapping reveals complement control protein modules critical for imparting cofactor and decay-accelerating activities in vaccinia virus complement control protein, J Immunol, 185(10): 6128-6137. PMID: 20956343 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1001617

Pyaram, K., Yadav, V.N., Reza, M.J. and Sahu, A. (2010) Virus-complement interactions: an assiduous struggle for dominance, Future Virol, 5(6): 709-730.

Singh, A. K., Yadav, V.N., Pyaram, K., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2009) Mapping of functional domains in Herpesvirus saimiri complement control protein homolog: the complement control protein domain 2 is the smallest structural unit displaying cofactor and decay-accelerating activities, J Virol, 83(19): 10299-10304. PMID: 19640995 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00217-09

Yadav, V. N., Pyaram, K., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2008) Identification of hot spots in the variola virus complement inhibitor (SPICE) for human complement regulation, J Virol, 82(7): 3283-3294. PMID: 18216095 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01935-07

Ahmad, M., Pyaram, K., Mullick, J. and Sahu, A. (2007) Viral complement regulators: the expert mimicking swindlers, Ind J Biochem Biophy, 44: 331-343. PMID: 18341208

Soulika, A.M., Holland, M. C. H., Sfyroera, G., Sahu, A., and Lambris J.D. (2006) Compstatin inhibits complement activation by binding to the b-chain of complement factor 3, Mol Immunol, 43(12): 2023-2029. PMID: 16472861

Singh, A.K., Mullick, J., Bernet, J. and Sahu, A. (2006) Functional characterization of the complement control protein homolog of Herpesvirus saimiri: Arg-118 is critical for factor I cofactor activities, J Biol Chem, 281: 23119-23128. PMID: 16760474

Mullick, J., Singh, A.K., Panse, Y., Yadav, V., Bernet, J. and Sahu, A. (2005) Identification of functional domains in kaposica, the complement control protein homolog of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus-8), J Virol, 79(9): 5850-5856. PMID: 15827200

Mullick, J.*, Bernet, J.*, Panse, Y., Hallihosur, S., Singh, A.K. and Sahu, A. (2005) Identification of complement regulatory domains in vaccinia virus complement control protein, J Virol, 79(19): 12382-12393. PMID: 16160165

Bernet, J., Mullick, J., Panse, Y., Parab, P.B. and Sahu, A. (2004) Kinetic analysis of the interactions between vaccinia virus complement control protein and human complement proteins C3b and C4b, J Virol, 78(17): 9446-9457. PMID: 15308738

Sarrias, M.R., Sahu, A., and Lambris, J.D. (2004) Characterization of the interactions of complement receptor 2 with its ligands iC3b, C3d and EBV glycoprotein gp350/220, Biacore Journal, 4(1): 16-19.

Sahu, A., Morikis, D., and Lambris, J.D. (2003) Compstatin, a peptide inhibitor of complement, exhibit species-specific binding to complement component C3 , Mol Immunol, 39: 557-566. PMID: 12431389

Mullick, J., Bernet, J., Singh, A. K., Lambris, J. D. and Sahu, A. (2003) Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (human herpesvirus-8) open reading frame 4 protein (kaposica) is a functional homolog of complement control proteins, J Virol , 77(6): 3878-3881. PMID: 12610165

Soulika, A.M., Morikis, D., Sarrias, M.R., Roy, M., Spruce, L.A., Sahu, A. and Lambris J.D. (2003) Studies of structure-activity relations of complement inhibitor compstatin, J Immunol, 171(4): 1881-1890. PMID: 12902490

Bernet, J., Mullick, J., Singh, A.K. and Sahu, A. (2003) Viral mimicry of the complement system, J Biosci, 28(3): 249-264. PMID: 12734404

Mullick, J., Kadam, A. and Sahu, A. (2003) Herpes and pox viral complement control proteins: ‘the mask of self’, Trends Immunol, 24(9): 500-507. PMID: 12967674

Morikis, D., Roy, M., Sahu, A., Troganis, A., Jennings, P.A., Tsokos, G.C., Lambris, J.D. (2002) The structural basis of compstatin activity examined by structure-function-based design of peptide analog and NMR, J Biol Chem, 277(17): 14942-53.

Sahu, A. and Lambris, J.D. (2002) Invited Commentary on Novel anti-factor D monoclonal antibody inhibits complement and leukocyte activation in a baboon model of cardiopulmonary bypass, Ann, Thorac Surg, 74(2): 362-.

Franchini, S., Zarkadis, I.K., Sfyroera, G., Sahu, A., Moore, W.T., Mastellos, D., Lapatra, S.E. and Lambris, J.D. (2001) Cloning and purification of the rainbow trout fifth component of complement (C5), Dev Comp Immunol, 25(5-6): 419-430. PMID: 11356221

Sarrias, M.R., Franchini, S., Canziani, G., Moore, W.T., Sahu, A., Lambris, J.D. (2001) Kinetic analysis of the interactions of complement receptor 2 (CR2, CD21) with its ligands C3d, iC3b and the Epstein Barr virus glycoprotein gp350/220, J Immunol, 167(3): 1490-1499. PMID: 11466369

Sahu, A. and Lambris, J.D. (2001) Structure and biology of complement protein C3, a connecting link between innate and acquired immunity, Immunol Rev, 180: 35-48. PMID: 11414361

Saha, K. and Sahu, A. (2001) Has Multi-Drug Therapy (MDT) Any Adverse Effects On Female Reproduction?, The Star , 60(1): 12-15.

Sahu, A., Soulika, A.M., Morikis, D., Spruce, L., Moore, W.T. and Lambris, J.D. (2000) Binding kinetics, structure-activity relationship and biotransformation of the complement inhibitor Compstatin, J Immunol, 165: 2491-2499. PMID: 10946275

Soulika, A.M., Khan, M., Hattori, T., Bowmen, F.W., Richardson, B.A., Sahu, A., Edmunds Jr, H.L. and Lambris, J.D. (2000) Inhibition of heparin/protamine complex-induced complement activation by Compstatin in baboons, Clin Immunol, 95: 212-221. PMID: 10964539

Sahu, A., Morikis, D., and Lambris, J.D. (2000) Complement inhibitors targeting C3, C4, and C5, Chapter 4 In Therapeutic Interventions in the Complement System J D Lambris and V M Holers, editors, pp: 75-112.

Sahu, A. and Lambris, J.D. (2000) Complement inhibitors: a resurgent concept in anti-inflammatory therapeutics, Immunopharmacology, 49(1-2): 133-148. PMID: 10904113

Sun, X., Funk, C.D., Deng, C., Sahu, A., Lambris, J.D., and Song, W. C (1999) Role of decay-accelerating factor in regulating complement activation on the erythrocyte surface as revealed by gene targeting, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 96: 628-633. PMID: 9892684

Sahu, A., Rawal, N. and Pangburn, M.K. (1999) Inhibition of complement by covalent attachment of rosmarinic acid to activated C3b, Biochem Pharmacol, 57: 1439-1446. PMID: 10353266

Fiane, A.E., Mollnes, T.E., Videm, V., Hovig, T., HøgÃ¥sen, K., Mellbye, O.J., Spruce L., Moore, W.T., Sahu, A., Lambris, J.D. (1999) Prolongation of ex vivo-perfused pig xenograft survival by the complement inhibitor Compstatin Transplant, Transplant Proc, 31: 934-935. PMID: 10083413

Fiane, A.E., Mollnes, T.E., Videm, V. Hovig, T., HøgÃ¥sen, K., Mellbye, O.J., Spruce, L. Moore, W.T. Sahu, A., and Lambris, J.D. (1999) Compstatin, a peptide inhibitor of C3, prolongs survival of ex vivo perfused pig xenografts, Xenotransplantation, 6: 52-65. PMID: 10355733

Lubinski, J., Wang, L., Mestellos, D., Sahu, A., Lambris, J.D., Friedman, H.M. (1999) In vivo role of complement interacting domains of herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoprotein gC, J Exp Med, 190(11): 1637-1646. PMID: 10587354

Morikis, D., Sahu, A., Moore, W.T., and Lambris, J.D. (1999) Design, structure, function and applications of Compstatin, In Bioactive Peptides in Drug Discovery and Design: Medical Aspects J Matsoukas and T Mavromoustako, pp: 235-246.

Morikis, D., Assa-Munt, N. and Sahu, A., Lambris, J.D. (1998) Solution structure of Compstatin, a potent complement inhibitor, Protein Science, 7(3): 619-627. PMID: 9541394

Sahu, A., Isaacs, S.N., Soulika, A.M. and Lambris, J.D. (1998) Interaction of vaccinia virus complement control protein with human complement proteins: Factor I-mediated degradation of C3b to iC3b1 inactivates the alternative complement pathway, J Immunol, 160: 5596-5604. PMID: 9605165

Nilsson, B., Hong, J., Larsson, R., Elgue, G., Nilsson-Ekdahl, K., Sahu, A., Lambris, J. D. (1998) Compstatin inhibits complement and cellular activation in whole blood in two models of extracorporeal circulation, Blood , 92(5): 1661-1667. PMID: 9716594

Lambris, J. D., Sahu A., and Wetsel R. (1998) The chemistry and biology of C3, C4, and C5, Chapter 5 in The Human Complement System in Health and Disease J E Volanakis and M Frank, editors , pp: 83-118.

Sahu, A., Sunyer, J.O., Moore, W.T., Sarrias, M.R., Soulika, A.M., Lambris, J.D. (1998) Structure, functions, and evolution of the third complement component and viral molecular mimicry, Immunologic Research , 17(1&2): 109-121. PMID: 9479573

Kostavasili, I*., Sahu, A*., Friedman, H.M., Eisenberg, R.J., Cohen, G.H. and Lambris, J.D. (1997) Mechanism of complement inactivation by glycoprotein C of herpes simplex virus, J Immunol, 158: 1763-1771. PMID: 9029114

Sahu, A. and Pangburn, M.K. (1996) Investigation of mechanism-based inhibitors of complement activation targeting the thioester site of C3, Biochem Pharmacol, 51: 797-804. PMID: 8602875

Sunyer, J.O., Zarkadis, I.K., Sahu, A. and Lambris, J.D. (1996) Multiple forms of complement C3 in trout that differ in binding to complement activators, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 93: 8546-8551. PMID: 8710907

Sahu, A., Kay, B.K. and Lambris, J.D. (1996) Inhibition of human complement by a C3-binding peptide isolated from a phage-displayed random peptide library, J Immunol, 157: 884-891. PMID: 8752942

Sahu, A. and Pangburn, M.K. (1995) Tyrosine is a potential site for covalent attachment of activated complement component C3, Mol Immunol, 32(10): 711-716. PMID: 7659097

Sahu, A., Kozel, T.R. and Pangburn, M.K. (1994) Specificity of the thioester-containing reactive site of human C3 and its significance to complement activation, Biochem J, 302(2): 429-436. PMID: 8092994

Sahu, A. and Pangburn, M.K. (1994) Covalent attachment of human complement C3 to IgG: Identification of the amino acid residue involved in ester linkage formation, J Biol Chem, 269(46): 28997-29002. PMID: 7961863

Dash, K., Saha, K., Sahu, A. and Gangal, S.V. (1993) Natural serum haemagglutinins (lectins) in fish: Physicochemical characterization, Fish & Shellfish Immunol, 3: 345-360.

Saha, K., Dash, K. and Sahu, A. (1993) Antibody dependent haemolysin, complement and opsonin in sera of a major carp, Cirrhina mrigala and catfish, Clarius batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis, Comp Immunol Microbiol & Infec Dis, 16(4): 323-330. PMID: 8281746

Sahu, A. and Pangburn, M.K. (1993) Identification of multiple sites of interaction between heparin and the complement system, Mol Immunol, 30(7): 679-684. PMID: 8487783

Kashyap, A., Sehgal, V.N., Sahu, A. and Saha, K. (1992) Anti-leprosy drugs inhibit the complement-mediated solubilization of pre-formed immune complexes in-vitro, Int J Immunopharmac, 14(2): 269-273. PMID: 1624226

Sahu, A., Saha, K., Mukherjee, A. and Sehgal, V.N. (1992) In vivo effects of anti-leprosy drugs on the rat peritoneal macrophages and lymphocyte subpopulations, Int J Immunopharmac, 14(4): 721-730. PMID: 1325957

Kashyap, A., Saha, K. Sahu, A., Chakrabarty, A.K. and Chattopadhyay, D. (1992) Delayed clearance of circulating immune complexes in mice following administration of anti-leprosy drugs, Int J Leprosy, 60(3): 404-409. PMID: 1474278

Sahu, A., Saha, K., Banerjee, N., Sehgal, V.N. and Jagga, C.R. (1991) Effect of anti-leprosy drugs on superoxide anion production by rat peritoneal macrophages with special reference to light exposed clofazimine, Int J Immunopharmac, 13(4): 419-428. PMID: 1646774

Saha, K. and Sahu, A. (1990) Transfer factor as a probe of the immune defect in lepromatous leprosy (HD), The Star , 49(7): 8-10.

Sahu, A., Saha, K., Kashyap, A. and Chakrabarty, A.K. (1988) Interaction of anti-leprosy drugs with the rat serum complement system, Immunopharmacology, 5(3): 143-150. PMID: 1624226

Rambukkana, A., Saha, K., Sahu, A. and Chopra, K. (1988) Undernutrition and altered T-cell homeostasis in children with severe chest diseases, J Trop Pediat, 34: 282-288. PMID: 3146649

Saha, K., Sahu, A. and Chakrabarty, A.K. (1986) Immunological aspects of lepra reaction, In Proceedings of Workshop on Reaction in Leprosy Indian Association of Leprologists, New Delhi, pp: 109-115.

Patents

Awards and Achievements

Wellcome Trust Overseas Senior Fellow in Biomedical Science in India (2001-2006)

Fellowship/Membership of Scientific Society

• Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, India (2019)
• Fellow, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, India (2016)
• Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India (2009)
• Member, International Complement Society (1993 - present)
• Member, American Association of Immunologists (1997-2001)
• Member, Molecular Immunology Forum (2005-present)
• Member, American Society for Microbiology (2005-present)

Lab Members

Renuka Nawadkar (Ph.D. student)

Palak Agrawal (Ph.D. student)

Pradipta Pal (Ph.D. Student)

Samriddhi Sharma (Ph.D. student)

Anup Kumar Singh (Ph.D. student)

Subhasis Sahu (Ph.D. student)

Deoraj Mogre (Technical Officer A)

Lab Alumni

Ph.D. students and Post-Doctoral fellows

Jayati Mullick, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Scientist E & Group Leader, Avian Influenza Division, National Institute of Virology, Pune)

John Bernet, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Scientist, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram)

Akhilesh K. Singh, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA).

Archana Kadam, Ph.D.
(Taken a career break to bring up her family).

Muzammil Ahmad, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Scientist, Elixirgen, LLC, USA)

Kalyani Pyaram, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)

Vivekanand Yadav, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA)

Malik Reza, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, USA)

Avneesh Kumar Gautam, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA)

Ajitanuj Rattan, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, NY, USA)

Ashish Kamble, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Senior Research Officer, Vaccine Research and Development Centre (VRDC), Shikrapur, Pune)

Jitendra Kumar, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at Baylor Institute for Immunology Research, Dallas Texas, USA)

Hemendra Singh Panwar, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post-doc at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.)

Hina Ojha, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Post Doctoral Fellow at University of Dundee, Scotland, UK)

Rajashri Shende, Ph.D.
(Current Affiliation: Associate Research Analyst, Intox Private Limited, Pune)

Arya M. Ghate, Ph.D.