John Joseph Karijolich, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

john.karijolich@vanderbilt.edu

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Faculty Appointments
Associate Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Education
Ph.D., University of Rochester, Rochester, New YorkB.A., Biology, Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin
Office Address
A4301 MCN
A4301 MCN
Nashville, TN 37232
Research Description
My research program is focused on nucleic acid-based mechanisms of antiviral and antitumor immunity. This includes investigating how RNA-based gene regulatory processes (RNA biogenesis, decay, and modification) serve as cell-intrinsic barriers to infection, as well as the genetic and biochemical regulation of nucleic acid-sensing innate immune receptors. We primarily study these events using the human oncogenic gammaherpesvirus Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), which is a prominent cause of AIDS-associated cancers. In addition, we have recently expanded our studies to include viruses of emerging and pandemic threat potential, such as Influenza and Poxviruses. The long-term goal of my laboratory is to leverage our findings for the development of molecular therapies capable of enhancing host defense against pathogens and cancer

Research Keywords
Host-pathogen interaction, RNA biology, innate immunity, endogenous retroviruses, herpesviruses, gene expression, virology, cancer, CRISPR screens
Publications
Rajendren S, Karijolich J. The impact of RNA modifications on the biology of DNA virus infection. Eur J Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2022 Jun; 101(3): 151239. PMID: 35623231, PII: S0171-9335(22)00042-5, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2022.151239, ISSN: 1618-1298.

Liu H, Li D, Sun L, Qin H, Fan A, Meng L, Graves-Deal R, Glass SE, Franklin JL, Liu Q, Wang J, Yeatman TJ, Guo H, Zong H, Jin S, Chen Z, Deng T, Fang Y, Li C, Karijolich J, Patton JG, Wang X, Nie Y, Fan D, Coffey RJ, Zhao X, Lu Y. Interaction of lncRNA MIR100HG with hnRNPA2B1 facilitates m6A-dependent stabilization of TCF7L2 mRNA and colorectal cancer progression. Mol Cancer. 2022 Mar 3/12/2022; 21(1): 74. PMID: 35279145, PMCID: PMC8917698, PII: 10.1186/s12943-022-01555-3, DOI: 10.1186/s12943-022-01555-3, ISSN: 1476-4598.

Sugiura A, Andrejeva G, Voss K, Heintzman DR, Xu X, Madden MZ, Ye X, Beier KL, Chowdhury NU, Wolf MM, Young AC, Greenwood DL, Sewell AE, Shahi SK, Freedman SN, Cameron AM, Foerch P, Bourne T, Garcia-Canaveras JC, Karijolich J, Newcomb DC, Mangalam AK, Rabinowitz JD, Rathmell JC. MTHFD2 is a metabolic checkpoint controlling effector and regulatory T cell fate and function. Immunity [print-electronic]. 2022 Jan 1/11/2022; 55(1): 65-81.e9. PMID: 34767747, PMCID: PMC8755618, PII: S1074-7613(21)00448-9, DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.10.011, ISSN: 1097-4180.

Abner JJ, Franklin JL, Clement MA, Hinger SA, Allen RM, Liu X, Kellner S, Wu J, Karijolich J, Liu Q, Vickers KC, Dedon P, Weaver AM, Coffey RJ, Patton JG. Depletion of METTL3 alters cellular and extracellular levels of miRNAs containing m6A consensus sequences. Heliyon. 2021 Dec; 7(12): e08519. PMID: 34934837, PMCID: PMC8654799, PII: S2405-8440(21)02622-0, DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08519, ISSN: 2405-8440.

Thoner TW, Ye X, Karijolich J, Ogden KM. Reovirus Low-Density Particles Package Cellular RNA. Viruses. 2021 Jun 6/8/2021; 13(6): PMID: 34201386, PMCID: PMC8228547, PII: v13061096, DOI: 10.3390/v13061096, ISSN: 1999-4915.

Dunker W, Ye X, Zhao Y, Liu L, Richardson A, Karijolich J. TDP-43 prevents endogenous RNAs from triggering a lethal RIG-I-dependent interferon response. Cell Rep. 2021 Apr 4/13/2021; 35(2): 108976. PMID: 33852834, PMCID: PMC8109599, PII: S2211-1247(21)00290-4, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108976, ISSN: 2211-1247.

Zhao Y, Ye X, Shehata M, Dunker W, Xie Z, Karijolich J. The RNA quality control pathway nonsense-mediated mRNA decay targets cellular and viral RNAs to restrict KSHV. Nat Commun. 2020 Jul 7/3/2020; 11(1): 3345. PMID: 32620802, PMCID: PMC7334219, PII: 10.1038/s41467-020-17151-2, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17151-2, ISSN: 2041-1723.

de Cubas AA, Dunker W, Zaninovich A, Hongo RA, Bhatia A, Panda A, Beckermann KE, Bhanot G, Ganesan S, Karijolich J, Rathmell WK. DNA hypomethylation promotes transposable element expression and activation of immune signaling in renal cell cancer. JCI Insight. 2020 Jun 6/4/2020; 5(11): PMID: 32493845, PMCID: PMC7308050, PII: 137569, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.137569, ISSN: 2379-3708.

Zhao Y, Karijolich J. Know Thyself: RIG-I-Like Receptor Sensing of DNA Virus Infection. J Virol [electronic-print]. 2019 Dec 12/1/2019; 93(23): PMID: 31511389, PMCID: PMC6854496, PII: JVI.01085-19, DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01085-19, ISSN: 1098-5514.

Ye X, Zhao Y, Karijolich J. The landscape of transcription initiation across latent and lytic KSHV genomes. PLoS Pathog. 2019 Jun; 15(6): e1007852. PMID: 31188901, PMCID: PMC6590836, PII: PPATHOGENS-D-19-00162, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007852, ISSN: 1553-7374.

Heinrich MJ, Purcell CA, Pruijssers AJ, Zhao Y, Spurlock CF, Sriram S, Ogden KM, Dermody TS, Scholz MB, Crooke PS, Karijolich J, Aune TM. Endogenous double-stranded Alu RNA elements stimulate IFN-responses in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. J. Autoimmun [print-electronic]. 2019 Jun; 100: 40-51. PMID: 30826177, PMCID: PMC6513682, PII: S0896-8411(18)30699-1, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2019.02.003, ISSN: 1095-9157.

Zhao Y, Ye X, Dunker W, Song Y, Karijolich J. RIG-I like receptor sensing of host RNAs facilitates the cell-intrinsic immune response to KSHV infection. Nat Commun. 2018 Nov 11/19/2018; 9(1): 4841. PMID: 30451863, PMCID: PMC6242832, PII: 10.1038/s41467-018-07314-7, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07314-7, ISSN: 2041-1723.

Dunker W, Song Y, Zhao Y, Karijolich J. FUS Negatively Regulates Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Gene Expression. Viruses. 2018 Jul 7/6/2018; 10(7): PMID: 29986386, PMCID: PMC6070805, PII: v10070359, DOI: 10.3390/v10070359, ISSN: 1999-4915.

Hesser CR, Karijolich J, Dominissini D, He C, Glaunsinger BA. N6-methyladenosine modification and the YTHDF2 reader protein play cell type specific roles in lytic viral gene expression during Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection. PLoS Pathog. 2018 Apr; 14(4): e1006995. PMID: 29659627, PMCID: PMC5919695, PII: PPATHOGENS-D-17-02239, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006995, ISSN: 1553-7374.

Zhao Y, Dunker W, Yu YT, Karijolich J. The Role of Noncoding RNA Pseudouridylation in Nuclear Gene Expression Events. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2018; 6: 8. PMID: 29473035, PMCID: PMC5809436, DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2018.00008, ISSN: 2296-4185.

Dunker W, Zhao Y, Song Y, Karijolich J. Recognizing the SINEs of Infection: Regulation of Retrotransposon Expression and Modulation of Host Cell Processes. Viruses. 2017 Dec 12/18/2017; 9(12): PMID: 29258254, PMCID: PMC5744160, PII: v9120386, DOI: 10.3390/v9120386, ISSN: 1999-4915.

Ge J, Karijolich J, Zhai Y, Zheng J, Yu YT. 5-Fluorouracil Treatment Alters the Efficiency of Translational Recoding. Genes (Basel). 2017 Oct 10/31/2017; 8(11): PMID: 29088058, PMCID: PMC5704208, PII: genes8110295, DOI: 10.3390/genes8110295, ISSN: 2073-4425.

Karijolich J, Zhao Y, Alla R, Glaunsinger B. Genome-wide mapping of infection-induced SINE RNAs reveals a role in selective mRNA export. Nucleic Acids Res [print-electronic]. 2017 Mar 3/15/2017; PMID: 28334904, PII: 3071714, DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx180, ISSN: 1362-4962.

Zhao Y, Karijolich J, Glaunsinger B, Zhou Q. Pseudouridylation of 7SK snRNA promotes 7SK snRNP formation to suppress HIV-1 transcription and escape from latency. EMBO Rep [print-electronic]. 2016 Aug 8/24/2016; PMID: 27558685, PII: embr.201642682, DOI: 10.15252/embr.201642682, ISSN: 1469-3178.

Huang C, Karijolich J, Yu YT. Detection and quantification of RNA 2'-O-methylation and pseudouridylation. Methods [print-electronic]. 2016 Jul 7/1/2016; 103: 68-76. PMID: 26853326, PMCID: PMC4921259, PII: S1046-2023(16)30021-4, DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2016.02.003, ISSN: 1095-9130.

Karijolich J, Yi C, Yu YT. Transcriptome-wide dynamics of RNA pseudouridylation. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2015 Oct; 16(10): 581-5. PMID: 26285676, PII: nrm4040, DOI: 10.1038/nrm4040, ISSN: 1471-0080.

Karijolich J, Yu YT. The new era of RNA modification. RNA. 2015 Apr; 21(4): 659-60. PMID: 25780180, PMCID: PMC4371322, PII: 21/4/659, DOI: 10.1261/rna.049650.115, ISSN: 1469-9001.

Karijolich J, Abernathy E, Glaunsinger BA. Infection-Induced Retrotransposon-Derived Noncoding RNAs Enhance Herpesviral Gene Expression via the NF-¿B Pathway. PLoS Pathog. 2015; 11(11): e1005260. PMID: 26584434, PMCID: PMC4652899, PII: PPATHOGENS-D-15-02010, DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005260, ISSN: 1553-7374.

Karijolich J, Yu YT. Therapeutic suppression of premature termination codons: mechanisms and clinical considerations (review). Int. J. Mol. Med [print-electronic]. 2014 Aug; 34(2): 355-62. PMID: 24939317, PMCID: PMC4094583, DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2014.1809, ISSN: 1791-244X.

Karijolich J, Zhao Y, Peterson B, Zhou Q, Glaunsinger B. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus ORF45 mediates transcriptional activation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat via RSK2. J. Virol [print-electronic]. 2014 Jun; 88(12): 7024-35. PMID: 24719417, PMCID: PMC4054375, PII: JVI.00931-14, DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00931-14, ISSN: 1098-5514.

Lim SJ, Scott A, Xiong XP, Vahidpour S, Karijolich J, Guo D, Pei S, Yu YT, Zhou R, Li WX. Requirement for CRIF1 in RNA interference and Dicer-2 stability. RNA Biol. 2014; 11(9): 1171-9. PMID: 25483042, PMCID: PMC4615304, DOI: 10.4161/rna.34381, ISSN: 1555-8584.

Karijolich JJ, Hampsey M. The Mediator complex. Curr. Biol. 2012 Dec 12/18/2012; 22(24): R1030-1. PMID: 23257183, PII: S0960-9822(12)01320-6, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.011, ISSN: 1879-0445.

Karijolich J, Yu YT. Converting nonsense codons into sense codons by targeted pseudouridylation. Nature. 2011 Jun 6/16/2011; 474(7351): 395-8. PMID: 21677757, PMCID: PMC3381908, PII: nature10165, DOI: 10.1038/nature10165, ISSN: 1476-4687.

Huang C, Karijolich J, Yu YT. Post-transcriptional modification of RNAs by artificial Box H/ACA and Box C/D RNPs. Methods Mol. Biol. 2011; 718: 227-44. PMID: 21370052, PMCID: PMC4161979, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-61779-018-8_14, ISSN: 1940-6029.

Karijolich J, Yu YT. Spliceosomal snRNA modifications and their function. RNA Biol [print-electronic]. 2010 Mar; 7(2): 192-204. PMID: 20215871, PMCID: PMC4154345, PII: 11207, ISSN: 1555-8584.

Karijolich J, Kantartzis A, Yu YT. Quantitative analysis of RNA modifications. Methods Mol. Biol. 2010; 629: 21-32. PMID: 20387140, PMCID: PMC4154561, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60761-657-3_2, ISSN: 1940-6029.

Karijolich J, Kantartzis A, Yu YT. RNA modifications: a mechanism that modulates gene expression. Methods Mol. Biol. 2010; 629: 1-19. PMID: 20387139, PMCID: PMC4154353, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-60761-657-3_1, ISSN: 1940-6029.

Karijolich J, Yu YT. Insight into the Protein Components of the Box H/ACA RNP. Curr Proteomics. 2008 Jul 7/1/2008; 5(2): 129-37. PMID: 19829749, PMCID: PMC2760984, DOI: 10.2174/157016408784911936, ISSN: 1570-1646.

Moelling C, Oberschlacke R, Ward P, Karijolich J, Borisova K, Bjelos N, Bergeron L. Metal-dependent repression of siderophore and biofilm formation in Actinomyces naeslundii. FEMS Microbiol. Lett [print-electronic]. 2007 Oct; 275(2): 214-20. PMID: 17825071, PII: FML888, DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2007.00888.x, ISSN: 0378-1097.

Karijolich J, Stephenson D, Yu YT. Biochemical purification of box H/ACA RNPs involved in pseudouridylation. Meth. Enzymol. 2007; 425: 241-62. PMID: 17673087, PII: S0076-6879(07)25011-6, DOI: 10.1016/S0076-6879(07)25011-6, ISSN: 0076-6879.