Santhi Gorantla, PhD

Professor santhi_gorantla

Durham Research Center, Room 8014
985880 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-5880

Phone: 402-559-8754
E-mail: Santhi Gorantla

Keywords: Mouse models for HIV, humanized mouse, HIV vaccine, HIV pathogenesis

In the News
Research Interests
Representative Publications
Dr. Gorantla's Biographical Information
Visit Dr. Gorantla's laboratory

Currently recruiting graduate students. Please contact if you are interested. 

 

In the News

UNMC Newsroom | September 24, 2021
Research highlights

UNMC Today | February 6, 2018
Chemically modified drug shows promise for HIV treatment, elimination

Olson Center for Women's Health
Current HIV Research at UNMC

Research Interests

Our laboratory has been involved in developing small animal models (rodent) for HIV research. The specificity of HIV-1 for human cells precludes virus infection in most mammalian species and limits the utility of small animal models for the studies of disease pathogenesis, therapy and vaccine development. To this end, a humanized mouse with long-term reconstitution of human functional lymphoid tissues was recently achieved by transplanting human hematopoietic stem cells into immunodeficient mice.

My research interests are to utilize the humanized mouse model to study:

  1. HIV vaccine strategies to induce protective immune responses and
  2. Immune-based therapeutics to enhance HIV immune responses

Critical evaluation of these various therapeutic approaches for the prevention of HIV infection is essential. The humanized mouse model offers a unique environment to test these approaches and provide a proof-of concept for human use. Visit the Translational Mouse Model Core Facility.

Representative Publications

  1. Li W, Gorantla S, Gendelman HE, Poluektova LY. Systemic HIV-1 infection produces a unique glial footprint in humanized mouse brains. Dis Model Mech. 2017 Dec 19;10(12):1489-1502. PMID: 29084769.

  2. Araínga M, Edagwa B, Mosley RL, Poluektova LY, Gorantla S, Gendelman HE. A mature macrophage is a principal HIV-1 cellular reservoir in humanized mice after treatment with long acting antiretroviral therapy. Retrovirology. 2017 Mar 9;14(1):17. PMID: 28279181; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5345240.

  3. Gnanadhas DP, Dash PK, Sillman B, Bade AN, Lin Z, Palandri DL, Gautam N, Alnouti Y, Gelbard HA, McMillan J, Mosley RL, Edagwa B, Gendelman HE, Gorantla S. Autophagy facilitates macrophage depots of sustained-release nanoformulated antiretroviral drugs. J Clin Invest. 2017 Jan 30. pii: 90025. PMID: 28134625; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5330738.

  4. Araínga M, Su H, Poluektova LY, Gorantla S, Gendelman HE. HIV-1 cellular and tissue replication patterns in infected humanized mice. Sci Rep. 2016 Mar 21;6:23513. doi: 10.1038/srep23513. PMID: 26996968 PMCID: PMC4800734.

  5. Zhang G, Guo D, Dash PK, Araínga M, Wiederin JL, Haverland NA, Knibbe-Hollinger J, Martinez-Skinner A, Ciborowski P, Goodfellow VS, Poluektova LY, Liu X, McMillan JM, Gorantla S, Gelbard HA and Gendelman HE. The Mixed Lineage Kinase-3 Inhibitor URMC-099 Improves Therapeutic Outcomes for Long-Acting Antiretroviral Therapy. Nanomedicine 2015. Jan;12(1):109-22. PMID: 26472049; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4728028

  6. Bade AN, Gorantla S, Dash PK, Makarov E, Sajja BR, Poluektova LY, Luo J, Gendelman HE, Boska MD, Liu Y. Manganese-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reflects Brain Pathology During Progressive HIV-1 Infection of Humanized Mice. Mol Neurobiol. 2015 Jun 11. PMID: 26063593; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4676748.

  7. Warren G, Makarov E, Lu Y, Senanayake T, Rivera K, Gorantla S, Poluektova LY, Vinogradov SV. Amphiphilic cationic nanogels as brain-targeted carriers for activated nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2015 Mar;10(1):88-101. PubMed PMID: 25559020; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4336642.

  8. Puligujja P, Balkundi SS, Kendrick LM, Baldridge HM, Hilaire JR, Bade AN, Dash PK, Zhang G, Poluektova LY, Gorantla S, Liu XM, Ying T, Feng Y, Wang Y, Dimitrov DS, McMillan JM, Gendelman HE. Pharmacodynamics of long-acting folic acid-receptor targeted ritonavir-boosted atazanavir nanoformulations. Biomaterials. 2015 Feb;41:141-50. PMID: 25522973; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4272445.

  9. Boska MD, Dash PK, Knibbe J, Epstein AA, Akhter SP, Fields N, High R, Makarov E, Bonasera S, Gelbard HA, Poluektova LY, Gendelman HE, Gorantla S. Associations between brain microstructures, metabolites, and cognitive deficits during chronic HIV-1 infection of humanized mice. Mol Neurodegener. 2014 Dec 18;9:58. PubMed PMID: 25523827; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4297430.

  10. Planque SA, Mitsuda Y, Chitsazzadeh V, Gorantla S, Poluektova L, Nishiyama Y, Ochsenbauer C, Morris MK, Sapparapu G, Hanson CV, Massey RJ, Paul S. (2014) Deficient synthesis of class-switched, HIV-neutralizing antibodies to the CD4+ binding site and correction by electrophilic gp120 immunogen. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 25022597

  11. Gutti TL, Knibbe JS, Makarov E, Zhang J, Yannam GR, Gorantla S, Sun Y, Mercer DF, Suemizu H, Wisecarver JL, Osna NA, Bronich TK, Poluektova LY. (2014) Human hepatocytes and hematolymphoid dual reconstitution in treosulfan-conditioned uPA-NOG mice. AM J Pathol 184(1): 101-9. PMID: 24200850

  12. Gerson T, Makarov E, Senanayake TH, Gorantla S, Poluektova LY, Vinogradov SV. (2014) Nano-NRTIs demonstrate low neurotoxicity and high antiviral activity against HIV infection in the brain. Nanomedicine 10(1): 177-85. PMID: 23845925

  13. Bade AN, Zhou B, Epstein AA, Gorantla S, Poluektova LY, Luo J, Gendelman HE, Boska MD, Liu Y. (2013) Improved visualization of neuronal injury following glial activation by manganese enhanced MRI. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 8(4): 1027-36. PMID: 23729245

  14. Epstein AA, Narayanasamy P, Dash PK, High R, Bathena SP, Gorantla S, Poluektova LY, Alnouti Y, Gendelman HE, Boska MD. (2013) Combinatorial assessments of brain tissue metabolomics and histopathology in rodent models of human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 8(5): 1224-38. PMID: 23702663

  15. Abdul-Muneer PM, Schuetz H, Wang F, Skotak M, Jones J, Gorantla S, Zimmerman MC, Chandra N, Haorah J. (2013) Induction of oxidative and nitrosative damage leads to cerebrovascular inflammation in an animal model of mild traumatic brain injury induced by primary blast. Free Radic Biol Med 60: 282-91. PMID: 23466554

  16. Dash PK, Gendelman HE, Roy U, Balkundi S, Alnouti Y, Mosley RL, Gelbard HA, McMillan J, Gorantla S, Poluektova LY. (2012) Long-acting nanoformulated antiretroviral therapy elicits potent antiretroviral and neuroprotective responses in HIV-1-infected humanized mice. AIDS 26(17): 2135-44. PMID: 22824628

  17. Roy U, McMillan J, Alnouti Y, Gautum N, Smith N, Balkundi S, Dash P, Gorantla S, Martinez-Skinner A, Meza J, Kanmogne G, Swindells S, Cohen SM, Mosley RL, Poluektova L, Gendelman HE. (2012) Pharmacodynamic and antiretroviral activities of combination nanoformulated antiretrovirals in HIV-1-infected human peripheral blood lymphocyte-reconstituted mice. J Infect Dis 206(10): 1577-88. PMID: 22811299

  18. Kanmogne GD, Singh S, Roy U, Liu X, McMillan J, Gorantla S, Balkundi S, Smith N, Alnouti Y, Gautam N, Zhou Y, Poluektova L, Kabanov A, Bronich T, Gendelman HE. (2012) Mononuclear phagocyte intercellular crosstalk facilitates transmission of cell-targeted nanoformulated antiretroviral drugs to human brain endothelial cells. Int J Nanomedicine 7: 2373-88. PMID: 22661891

  19. Gorantla S, Poluektova L, Gendelman HE. (2012) Rodent models for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Trends Neurosci 35(3): 197-208. PMID: 22305769

Additional publications in PubMed.

Dr. Gorantla's biographical information
 Visit Dr. Gorantla's laboratory
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