My research interest for the last decade has been focused on the molecular biology, immunology, and pathogenesis of negative-strand (Influenza viruses, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human Metapneumovirus, arenavirus, Thogoto virus, Ebola virus, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus) and positive-strand (Dengue virus, SARS coronavirus, Mouse Hepatitis virus) RNA, and DNA viruses. I have extensive knowledge in reverse genetics techniques for rescuing RNA and DNA viruses, pioneered the development of techniques and screening assays to identify viral-encoded interferon antagonist proteins, and established new molecular biology techniques to study highly pathogenic viruses without the requirement of special biosafety conditions. My major contributions to the virology field include the development of new experimental systems to answer difficult questions in the mechanisms of virus-host interactions, including: 1) Reverse genetics tools to genetically manipulate viruses, that I have used to examine virus-host interactions and development of vaccines; 2) Plasmid, virus and cellular based assays for the identification of virus-encoded IFN-antagonist proteins that I have used to uncover molecular mechanisms involved in viral pathogenesis, including the first description of an IFN antagonist protein in the arenavirus family and the multiple anti-IFN actions of influenza virus NS1; and 3) Single-cycle infectious influenza and arenaviruses to study highly pathogenic viruses, without the requirement of special biosafety conditions.
Since my recent appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at University of Rochester, one of the 5 NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, my research has focused on the interactions of influenza and arenavirus proteins with the host cell. My experience in molecular biology, virus reverse genetics techniques, and virus-based bioassays to study the interferon response gives me the unique opportunity to carry out innovative and original research projects, the major objective of which is to shed light and understand the molecular determinants of patogenesis of influenza and arenaviruses and how these viruses interact with their hosts.

• Rodrigo WW, Ortiz-Riaño E, Pythoud C, Kunz S, de la Torre JC, Martínez-Sobrido L. Arenavirus nucleoproteins prevent activation of nuclear factor kappa B. J Virol. 2012 Aug; 86(15):8185-97.
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• Pythoud C, Rodrigo WW, Pasqual G, Rothenberger S, Martínez-Sobrido L, de la Torre JC, Kunz S. Arenavirus Nucleoprotein Targets Interferon Regulatory Factor-Activating Kinase IKK{varepsilon}. J Virol. 2012 Aug; 86(15):7728-38.
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• Ortiz-Riaño E, Cheng BY, de la Torre JC, Martínez-Sobrido L. Self-association of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus nucleoprotein is mediated by its N-terminal region and is not required for its anti-interferon function. J Virol. 2012 Mar; 86(6):3307-17.
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• Guerra S, Abaitua F, Martínez-Sobrido L, Esteban M, García-Sastre A, Rodríguez D. Host-Range Restriction of Vaccinia Virus E3L Deletion Mutant Can Be Overcome In Vitro, but Not In Vivo, by Expression of the Influenza Virus NS1 Protein. PLoS One. 2011; 6(12):e28677.
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• Ortiz-Riaño E, Cheng BY, de la Torre JC, Martínez-Sobrido L. The C-Terminal Region of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Nucleoprotein Contains Distinct and Segregable Functional Domains Involved in NP-Z Interaction and Counteraction of the Type I Interferon Response. J Virol. 2011 Dec; 85(24):13038-48.
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• Bortz E, Westera L, Maamary J, Steel J, Albrecht RA, Manicassamy B, Chase G, Martínez-Sobrido L, Schwemmle M, García-Sastre A. Host- and strain-specific regulation of influenza virus polymerase activity by interacting cellular proteins. MBio. 2011; 2(4).
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• Davtyan H, Ghochikyan A, Cadagan R, Zamarin D, Petrushina I, Movsesyan N, Martinez-Sobrido L, Albrecht RA, García-Sastre A, Agadjanyan MG. The immunological potency and therapeutic potential of a prototype dual vaccine against influenza and Alzheimer's disease. J Transl Med. 2011; 9:127.
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• Moreno JL, Kurita M, Holloway T, López J, Cadagan R, Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, González-Maeso J. Maternal influenza viral infection causes schizophrenia-like alterations of 5-HT2A and mGlu2 receptors in the adult offspring. J Neurosci. 2011 Feb 2; 31(5):1863-72.
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• Kou Z, Lim JY, Beltramello M, Quinn M, Chen H, Liu S, Liu SN, Martinez-Sobrido L, Martnez-Sobrido L, Diamond MS, Schlesinger JJ, de Silva A, Sallusto F, Jin X. Human antibodies against dengue enhance dengue viral infectivity without suppressing type I interferon secretion in primary human monocytes. Virology. 2011 Feb 5; 410(1):240-7.
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• Rodrigo WW, de la Torre JC, Martínez-Sobrido L. Use of single-cycle infectious lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to study hemorrhagic fever arenaviruses. J Virol. 2011 Feb; 85(4):1684-95.
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• Wortman MJ, Hanson LK, Martínez-Sobrido L, Campbell AE, Nance JA, García-Sastre A, Johnson EM. Regulation of PURA gene transcription by three promoters generating distinctly spliced 5-prime leaders: a novel means of fine control over tissue specificity and viral signals. BMC Mol Biol. 2010; 11:81.
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• Borrow P, Martínez-Sobrido L, de la Torre JC. Inhibition of the type I interferon antiviral response during arenavirus infection. Viruses. 2010 Nov; 2(11):2443-80.
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• Kim D, Martinez-Sobrido L, Choi C, Petroff N, García-Sastre A, Niewiesk S, Carsillo T. Induction of type I interferon secretion through recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing measles virus hemagglutinin stimulates antibody secretion in the presence of maternal antibodies. J Virol. 2011 Jan; 85(1):200-7.
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• Steidle S, Martínez-Sobrido L, Mordstein M, Lienenklaus S, García-Sastre A, Stäheli P, Kochs G. Glycine 184 in nonstructural protein NS1 determines the virulence of influenza A virus strain PR8 without affecting the host interferon response. J Virol. 2010 Dec; 84(24):12761-70.
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• Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A. Generation of recombinant influenza virus from plasmid DNA. J Vis Exp. 2010; (42).
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• Rose KM, Elliott R, Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, Weiss SR. Murine coronavirus delays expression of a subset of interferon-stimulated genes. J Virol. 2010 Jun; 84(11):5656-69.
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• Martínez-Sobrido L, Cadagan R, Steel J, Basler CF, Palese P, Moran TM, García-Sastre A. Hemagglutinin-pseudotyped green fluorescent protein-expressing influenza viruses for the detection of influenza virus neutralizing antibodies. J Virol. 2010 Feb; 84(4):2157-63.
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• Buettner N, Vogt C, Martínez-Sobrido L, Weber F, Waibler Z, Kochs G. Thogoto virus ML protein is a potent inhibitor of the interferon regulatory factor-7 transcription factor. J Gen Virol. 2010 Jan; 91(Pt 1):220-7.
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• Kochs G, Martínez-Sobrido L, Lienenklaus S, Weiss S, García-Sastre A, Staeheli P. Strong interferon-inducing capacity of a highly virulent variant of influenza A virus strain PR8 with deletions in the NS1 gene. J Gen Virol. 2009 Dec; 90(Pt 12):2990-4.
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• Martínez-Sobrido L, Emonet S, Giannakas P, Cubitt B, García-Sastre A, de la Torre JC. Identification of amino acid residues critical for the anti-interferon activity of the nucleoprotein of the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. J Virol. 2009 Nov; 83(21):11330-40.
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• Kuri T, Zhang X, Habjan M, Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, Yuan Z, Weber F. Interferon priming enables cells to partially overturn the SARS coronavirus-induced block in innate immune activation. J Gen Virol. 2009 Nov; 90(Pt 11):2686-94.
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• Nguyen DN, Kim P, Martínez-Sobrido L, Beitzel B, García-Sastre A, Langer R, Anderson DG. A novel high-throughput cell-based method for integrated quantification of type I interferons and in vitro screening of immunostimulatory RNA drug delivery. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2009 Jul 1; 103(4):664-75.
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• Dauber B, Martínez-Sobrido L, Schneider J, Hai R, Waibler Z, Kalinke U, García-Sastre A, Wolff T. Influenza B virus ribonucleoprotein is a potent activator of the antiviral kinase PKR. PLoS Pathog. 2009 Jun; 5(6):e1000473.
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• Zamarin D, Martínez-Sobrido L, Kelly K, Mansour M, Sheng G, Vigil A, García-Sastre A, Palese P, Fong Y. Enhancement of oncolytic properties of recombinant newcastle disease virus through antagonism of cellular innate immune responses. Mol Ther. 2009 Apr; 17(4):697-706.
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• Lai C, Struckhoff JJ, Schneider J, Martinez-Sobrido L, Wolff T, García-Sastre A, Zhang DE, Lenschow DJ. Mice lacking the ISG15 E1 enzyme UbE1L demonstrate increased susceptibility to both mouse-adapted and non-mouse-adapted influenza B virus infection. J Virol. 2009 Jan; 83(2):1147-51.
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• Hai R, Martínez-Sobrido L, Fraser KA, Ayllon J, García-Sastre A, Palese P. Influenza B virus NS1-truncated mutants: live-attenuated vaccine approach. J Virol. 2008 Nov; 82(21):10580-90.
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• Andersson I, Karlberg H, Mousavi-Jazi M, Martínez-Sobrido L, Weber F, Mirazimi A. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus delays activation of the innate immune response. J Med Virol. 2008 Aug; 80(8):1397-404.
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• Muñoz-Fontela C, Macip S, Martínez-Sobrido L, Brown L, Ashour J, García-Sastre A, Lee SW, Aaronson SA. Transcriptional role of p53 in interferon-mediated antiviral immunity. J Exp Med. 2008 Aug 4; 205(8):1929-38.
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• Loo YM, Fornek J, Crochet N, Bajwa G, Perwitasari O, Martinez-Sobrido L, Akira S, Gill MA, García-Sastre A, Katze MG, Gale M. Distinct RIG-I and MDA5 signaling by RNA viruses in innate immunity. J Virol. 2008 Jan; 82(1):335-45.
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• Martínez-Sobrido L, Giannakas P, Cubitt B, García-Sastre A, de la Torre JC. Differential inhibition of type I interferon induction by arenavirus nucleoproteins. J Virol. 2007 Nov; 81(22):12696-703.
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• Vigil A, Park MS, Martinez O, Chua MA, Xiao S, Cros JF, Martínez-Sobrido L, Woo SL, García-Sastre A. Use of reverse genetics to enhance the oncolytic properties of Newcastle disease virus. Cancer Res. 2007 Sep 1; 67(17):8285-92.
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• Roth-Cross JK, Martínez-Sobrido L, Scott EP, García-Sastre A, Weiss SR. Inhibition of the alpha/beta interferon response by mouse hepatitis virus at multiple levels. J Virol. 2007 Jul; 81(13):7189-99.
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• He Q, Martinez-Sobrido L, Eko FO, Palese P, Garcia-Sastre A, Lyn D, Okenu D, Bandea C, Ananaba GA, Black CM, Igietseme JU. Live-attenuated influenza viruses as delivery vectors for Chlamydia vaccines. Immunology. 2007 Sep; 122(1):28-37.
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• Kochs G, García-Sastre A, Martínez-Sobrido L. Multiple anti-interferon actions of the influenza A virus NS1 protein. J Virol. 2007 Jul; 81(13):7011-21.
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• Grimm D, Staeheli P, Hufbauer M, Koerner I, Martínez-Sobrido L, Solórzano A, García-Sastre A, Haller O, Kochs G. Replication fitness determines high virulence of influenza A virus in mice carrying functional Mx1 resistance gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Apr 17; 104(16):6806-11.
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• Mayer D, Molawi K, Martínez-Sobrido L, Ghanem A, Thomas S, Baginsky S, Grossmann J, García-Sastre A, Schwemmle M. Identification of cellular interaction partners of the influenza virus ribonucleoprotein complex and polymerase complex using proteomic-based approaches. J Proteome Res. 2007 Feb; 6(2):672-82.
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• Stertz S, Reichelt M, Spiegel M, Kuri T, Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, Weber F, Kochs G. The intracellular sites of early replication and budding of SARS-coronavirus. Virology. 2007 May 10; 361(2):304-15.
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• Kopecky-Bromberg SA, Martínez-Sobrido L, Frieman M, Baric RA, Palese P. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus open reading frame (ORF) 3b, ORF 6, and nucleocapsid proteins function as interferon antagonists. J Virol. 2007 Jan; 81(2):548-57.
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• Mibayashi M, Martínez-Sobrido L, Loo YM, Cárdenas WB, Gale M, García-Sastre A. Inhibition of retinoic acid-inducible gene I-mediated induction of beta interferon by the NS1 protein of influenza A virus. J Virol. 2007 Jan; 81(2):514-24.
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• Martínez-Sobrido L, Zúñiga EI, Rosario D, García-Sastre A, de la Torre JC. Inhibition of the type I interferon response by the nucleoprotein of the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. J Virol. 2006 Sep; 80(18):9192-9.
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• Cárdenas WB, Loo YM, Gale M, Hartman AL, Kimberlin CR, Martínez-Sobrido L, Saphire EO, Basler CF. Ebola virus VP35 protein binds double-stranded RNA and inhibits alpha/beta interferon production induced by RIG-I signaling. J Virol. 2006 Jun; 80(11):5168-78.
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• Martinez-Sobrido L, Gitiban N, Fernandez-Sesma A, Cros J, Mertz SE, Jewell NA, Hammond S, Flano E, Durbin RK, García-Sastre A, Durbin JE. Protection against respiratory syncytial virus by a recombinant Newcastle disease virus vector. J Virol. 2006 Feb; 80(3):1130-9.
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• Kopecky-Bromberg SA, Martinez-Sobrido L, Palese P. 7a protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus inhibits cellular protein synthesis and activates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. J Virol. 2006 Jan; 80(2):785-93.
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• Muñoz-Jordán JL, Laurent-Rolle M, Ashour J, Martínez-Sobrido L, Ashok M, Lipkin WI, García-Sastre A. Inhibition of alpha/beta interferon signaling by the NS4B protein of flaviviruses. J Virol. 2005 Jul; 79(13):8004-13.
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• García-Barreno B, Steel J, Payá M, Martínez-Sobrido L, Delgado T, Yeo RP, Melero JA. Epitope mapping of human respiratory syncytial virus 22K transcription antitermination factor: role of N-terminal sequences in protein folding. J Gen Virol. 2005 Apr; 86(Pt 4):1103-7.
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• Spiegel M, Pichlmair A, Martínez-Sobrido L, Cros J, García-Sastre A, Haller O, Weber F. Inhibition of Beta interferon induction by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus suggests a two-step model for activation of interferon regulatory factor 3. J Virol. 2005 Feb; 79(4):2079-86.
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• Jennings S, Martínez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, Weber F, Kochs G. Thogoto virus ML protein suppresses IRF3 function. Virology. 2005 Jan 5; 331(1):63-72.
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• Vecino WH, Quanquin NM, Martinez-Sobrido L, Fernandez-Sesma A, García-Sastre A, Jacobs WR, Fennelly GJ. Mucosal immunization with attenuated Shigella flexneri harboring an influenza hemagglutinin DNA vaccine protects mice against a lethal influenza challenge. Virology. 2004 Aug 1; 325(2):192-9.
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• Basler CF, Mikulasova A, Martinez-Sobrido L, Paragas J, Mühlberger E, Bray M, Klenk HD, Palese P, García-Sastre A. The Ebola virus VP35 protein inhibits activation of interferon regulatory factor 3. J Virol. 2003 Jul; 77(14):7945-56.
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• Schickli JH, Flandorfer A, Nakaya T, Martinez-Sobrido L, García-Sastre A, Palese P. Plasmid-only rescue of influenza A virus vaccine candidates. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2001 Dec 29; 356(1416):1965-73.
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