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Mihai Luchian Azoitei

Mihai Luchian Azoitei

Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Cell Biology

Selected Publications

An engineered immunogen activates diverse HIV broadly neutralizing antibody precursors and promotes acquisition of improbable mutations.

Journal Article Sci Transl Med · January 8, 2025 Elicitation of HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) by vaccination first requires the activation of diverse precursors, followed by successive boosts that guide these responses to enhanced breadth through the acquisition of somatic mutations. Becaus ... Full text Link to item Cite

Engineered immunogens to elicit antibodies against conserved coronavirus epitopes.

Journal Article Nature communications · November 2023 Immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 primarily target the receptor binding domain of the spike protein, which continually mutates to escape acquired immunity. Other regions in the spike S2 subunit, such as the stem helix and the segment encompassing residues 815 ... Full text Cite

Identification of CDRH3 loops in the B cell receptor repertoire that can be engaged by candidate immunogens.

Journal Article PLoS pathogens · May 2023 A major goal for the development of vaccines against rapidly mutating viruses, such as influenza or HIV, is to elicit antibodies with broad neutralization capacity. However, B cell precursors capable of maturing into broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) ... Full text Cite

Mouse and human antibodies bind HLA-E-leader peptide complexes and enhance NK cell cytotoxicity.

Journal Article Commun Biol · March 28, 2022 The non-classical class Ib molecule human leukocyte antigen E (HLA-E) has limited polymorphism and can bind HLA class Ia leader peptides (VL9). HLA-E-VL9 complexes interact with the natural killer (NK) cell receptors NKG2A-C/CD94 and regulate NK cell-media ... Full text Link to item Cite

Rapid selection of HIV envelopes that bind to neutralizing antibody B cell lineage members with functional improbable mutations.

Journal Article Cell reports · August 2021 Elicitation of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) by an HIV vaccine will involve priming the immune system to activate antibody precursors, followed by boosting immunizations to select for antibodies with functional features required for neutralizatio ... Full text Cite

Neutralizing antibody vaccine for pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses.

Journal Article Nature · June 2021 Betacoronaviruses caused the outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome, as well as the current pandemic of SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)1-4. Vaccines that elicit protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 and ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Multiplexed GTPase and GEF biosensor imaging enables network connectivity analysis.

Journal Article Nat Chem Biol · August 2020 Here we generate fluorescence resonance energy transfer biosensors for guanine exchange factors (GEFs) by inserting a fluorescent protein pair in a structural 'hinge' common to many GEFs. Fluorescent biosensors can map the activation of signaling molecules ... Full text Link to item Cite

Spatiotemporal dynamics of GEF-H1 activation controlled by microtubule- and Src-mediated pathways.

Journal Article J Cell Biol · September 2, 2019 Rho family GTPases are activated with precise spatiotemporal control by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). Guanine exchange factor H1 (GEF-H1), a RhoA activator, is thought to act as an integrator of microtubule (MT) and actin dynamics in diverse ... Full text Link to item Cite

Software for lattice light-sheet imaging of FRET biosensors, illustrated with a new Rap1 biosensor.

Journal Article J Cell Biol · September 2, 2019 Lattice light-sheet microscopy (LLSM) is valuable for its combination of reduced photobleaching and outstanding spatiotemporal resolution in 3D. Using LLSM to image biosensors in living cells could provide unprecedented visualization of rapid, localized ch ... Full text Link to item Cite

Computational design of protein antigens that interact with the CDR H3 loop of HIV broadly neutralizing antibody 2F5.

Journal Article Proteins · October 2014 Rational design of proteins with novel binding specificities and increased affinity is one of the major goals of computational protein design. Epitope-scaffolds are a new class of antigens engineered by transplanting viral epitopes of predefined structure ... Full text Link to item Cite

Computational design of high-affinity epitope scaffolds by backbone grafting of a linear epitope.

Journal Article J Mol Biol · January 6, 2012 Computational grafting of functional motifs onto scaffold proteins is a promising way to engineer novel proteins with pre-specified functionalities. Typically, protein grafting involves the transplantation of protein side chains from a functional motif ont ... Full text Link to item Cite

Computation-guided backbone grafting of a discontinuous motif onto a protein scaffold.

Journal Article Science · October 21, 2011 The manipulation of protein backbone structure to control interaction and function is a challenge for protein engineering. We integrated computational design with experimental selection for grafting the backbone and side chains of a two-segment HIV gp120 e ... Full text Link to item Cite

PD-1/PD-L1, but not PD-1/PD-L2, interactions regulate the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Journal Article J Neuroimmunol · January 2007 Interactions between PD-1 and its two differentially expressed ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, attenuate T cell activation and effector function. To determine the role of these molecules in autoimmune disease of the CNS, PD-1-/-, PD-L1-/- and PD-L2-/- mice were ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cytosolic phospholipase A2 alpha-deficient mice are resistant to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Journal Article J Exp Med · September 19, 2005 Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a Th1-mediated inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS), is a model of human multiple sclerosis. Cytosolic phospholipase A2alpha (cPLA2alpha), which initiates production of prostaglandins, le ... Full text Link to item Cite