PROFILE PREVIEW

DR. MILAN SURJIT, Ph.D.  

Assistant Professor
+91-129-3087318  (+91-129-2876318)
milan [at] thsti [dot] res [dot] in
Post-Doctoral Research, Programme in Functional Genomics and Cancer, Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Strasbourg, France, (Advisor: Prof. Pierre Chambon).
PhD. Molecular Biology (Virology), International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.
MSc. Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.

Present Research Interest

Understanding the biology and development of intervention strategies against the Hepatitis E virus and SARS-Coronavirus-2. Understanding the role of endogenous retroviruses in health and disease.

Research Summary

Hepatitis E Virus (HEV) causes acute hepatitis in human characterized by jaundice, anorexia, nausea, abdominal pain, malaise, fever and hepatomegaly. In India, it accounts for ~50% of sporadic hepatitis. Recent reports also suggest chronic HEV infection in ~60% liver transplantation patients. No vaccine or drug is yet available against HEV in India and most of the world.

My laboratory has been investigating the role of host-pathogen interactions in HEV pathogenesis and exploring the mechanism of viral translation and replication. A part of the laboratory is also actively engaged in development of a recombinant vaccine against HEV by establishing a translational research consortium in partnership with clinical collaborators (AIIMS, New Delhi and PGIMER, Chandigarh) and an industry collaborator (Vaxfarm LifeSciences).

After the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic, my  laboratory has initiated studies towards understanding the life cycle of the SARS-CoV-2, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel antiviral targets against the pathogen. We are also interested in developing an mRNA vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) represent retroviral elements that were integrated into the ancestral genome of living organisms, including human. Emerging studies suggest the importance of ERVs in embryonic development as well as in the manifestation of diseases, including cancer, inflammation and viral infections. My laboratory aims at evaluating the broader significance of ERVs in health and disease during the course of evolution.

Research and review articles 

  • Ansari S, Gupta N, Verma R, Singh ON, Gupta J, Kumar A, Yadav MK, Binayke A, Tiwari M, Periwal N, Sood V, Mani S, Awasthi A, Shalimar, Nayak B, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2023. Antiviral activity of the Human endogenous retrovirus-R Envelope protein against the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2. EMBO reports. 2023, e55900, 10.15252/embr.202255900.

  • Kumar A, Subramani C, Raj S, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2023. Hepatitis E Virus Protease Inhibits the Activity of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 2-Alpha Kinase 4 and Promotes Virus Survival. Journal of Virology, 2023, 10.1128/jvi.00347-23.

  • Kumar S, Verma R, Saha S, Agrahari A, Shukla S, Anurag, Maiti TK, Surjit M. 2023. RNA-protein interactome at the Hepatitis E virus internal ribosome entry site. Microbiology Spectrum (Accepted for publication).

  • Agarwal S, Kaur S, Asuru TR, Joshi G, Shrimali NM, Singh A, Singh ON, Srivastva P, Shrivastava T, Vrati S, Surjit M, Guchhait P. 2022. Dietary alpha-ketoglutarate inhibits SARS CoV-2 infection and rescues inflamed lungs to restore O2 saturation by inhibiting pAkt. Clin Transl Med. 2022. 12(9):e1041.

  • Gupta J, Irfan M, Ramgir N, Muthe KP, Debnath AK, Ansari S, Gandhi J, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2022. Antiviral Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Tetrapods Against the Hepatitis E and Hepatitis C Viruses. Front Microbiol. 13:881595.

  • Gupta J, Kumar A, Surjit M. 2022. Production of a Hepatitis E Vaccine Candidate Using the Pichia pastoris Expression System. Methods Mol Biol. 2412:117-141.

  • Saha S, Verma R, Kumar C, Kumar B, Dey AK, Surjit M, Mylavarapu SVS, Maiti TK. 2022. Proteomic analysis reveals USP7 as a novel regulator of palmitic acid-induced hepatocellular carcinoma cell death. Cell Death Dis. 13(6):563.

  • Tripathi A, Singh Rawat B, Addya S, Surjit M, Tailor P, Vrati S, Banerjee A. 2021. Lack of Interferon (IFN) Regulatory Factor 8 Associated with Restricted IFN-γ Response Augmented Japanese Encephalitis Virus Replication in the Mouse Brain. J Virol. 95(21):e0040621.

  • Rizvi ZA, Tripathy MR, Sharma N, Goswami S, Srikanth N, Sastry JLN, Mani S, Surjit M, Awasthi A, Dikshit M. 2021. Effect of Prophylactic Use of Intranasal Oil Formulations in the Hamster Model of COVID-19. Front Pharmacol. 12:746729.

  • Verma R, Saha S, Kumar S, Mani S, Maiti TK, Surjit M. 2021. RNA-protein interaction analysis of SARS-CoV-2 5’- and 3’-untranslated regions reveal a role of lysosome-associated membrane protein-2a during viral infection. mSystems 6, e00643-21.

  • Shrivastava T, Singh B, Rizvi ZA, Verma R, Goswami S, Vishwakarma P, Jakhar K, Sonar S, Mani S, Bhattacharyya S, Awasthi A, Surjit M. 2021. Comparative Immunomodulatory Evaluation of the Receptor Binding Domain of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein; a Potential Vaccine Candidate Which Imparts Potent Humoral and Th1 Type Immune Response in a Mouse Model. Front Immunol. 12:641447. 

  • Kao C, Surjit M, Ranjith-Kumar CT. Editorial: Viral Hepatitis: Pathophysiology, prevention and control. 2021. Front Cell and Infect Microbiol. 

  • Sehrawat, S, Khasa R, Deb A, Prajapat SK, Mallick S, Basu A, Surjit M, Kalia M, Vrati S. 2021. Valosin-containing protein/p97 plays critical roles in the Japanese encephalitis virus life cycle. J Virol. 95, 11.

  • Majumdar S, Verma R, Saha A, Bhattacharyya P, Maji P, Surjit M, Kundu M, Basu J, Saha S. 2021. Perspectives about modulating host immune system in targeting SARS-CoV-2 in India. Front genetics 12, 125.

  • Mittal A, Gupta A, Kumar S, Surjit M, Singh B, Soneja M, Soni KD, Khan AR, Singh K, Naik S, Kumar A. 2020. Gargle lavage as a viable alternative to swab for detection of SARS-CoV-2. Indian Journal of Medical Research 152(1), 77.

  • Hingane S, Joshi N, Surjit M, Ranjith-Kumar CT. 2020. Hepatitis E virus ORF2 inhibits RIG-I mediated interferon response. Front Microbiol. 15, 656.

  • Gupta J, Kaul S, Srivastava A, Kaushik N, Ghosh S, Sharma C, Batra G, Banerjee M, Shalimar, Nayak B, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2020. Expression, Purification and Characterization of the Hepatitis E Virus Like-Particles in the Pichia pastoris. Front Microbiol. 11:141.

  • Anang S, Kaushik N, Surjit M. 2018. Recent advances towards development of potent antivirals against Hepatitis E Virus. J.Clin Trans Hepatol. 6:1–7.

  • Kaushik N, Anang S, Ganti KP, Surjit M. 2018. Zinc: A potential antivirals against the Hepatitis E Virus? DNA and Cell Biology 37:593–599 (image selected for cover page of that issue).

  • Anang S, Kaushik N, Hingane S, Kumari A, Gupta J, Asthana S, Shalimar, Nayak B, CT Ranjith-Kumar, Surjit M. 2018. Potent inhibition of hepatitis E virus release by a cyclic peptide inhibitor of the interaction between viral open reading frame 3 protein and host tumour susceptibility gene 101. J Virol. e00684-18.

  • Chandru S, Nair V, Anang S, Mandal SD, Pareek M, Kaushik N, Srivastava A, Saha S, Shalimar, Nayak B, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2018. Host-virus protein interaction network reveals the involvement of multiple host processes in the life cycle of hepatitis E virus. mSystems. 3, e00135-17.

  • Kaushik N, Subramani C, Anang S, Muthumohan R, Shalimar, Nayak B, Ranjith-Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2017. Zinc Salts Block Hepatitis E Virus Replication by Inhibiting the Activity of Viral RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase. J Virol. 91, 00754-17.

  • Madhvi A, Hingane S, Srivastav R, Joshi N, Subramani C, Muthumohan R, Khasa R, Varshney S, Kalia M, Vrati S, Surjit M, Ranjith-Kumar CT. 2017. A screen for novel hepatitis C virus RdRp inhibitor identifies a broad-spectrum antiviral compound. Sci Rep. 7, 5816.

  • Ganti KP, Mukherji A, Surjit M, Li M, Chambon P. 2017. Similarities and differences in the transcriptional control of expression of the mouse TSLP gene in skin epidermis and intestinal epithelium. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 114, E951-E960.

  • Wang W, Hakim MS, Nair VP, de Ruiter PE, Huang F, Sprengers D, Van Der Laan LJ, Peppelenbosch MP, Surjit M, Pan Q. 2016. Distinct Antiviral Potency of Sofosbuvir Against Hepatitis C and E Viruses. Gastroenterology. 151, 1251-1253.

  • Nair VP, Anang S*, Subramani C*, Madhvi A, Bakshi K, Srivastava A, Shalimar, Nayak B, Ranjith Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2016. Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Induced Synthesis of a Novel Viral Factor Mediates Efficient Replication of Genotype-1 Hepatitis E Virus. PLoS Pathog 12(4): e1005521.

  • Anang S, Subramani C*, Nair VP*, Kaul S, Kaushik N, Sharma C, Tiwari A, Ranjith Kumar CT, Surjit M. 2016. Identification of critical residues in Hepatitis E virus macro domain involved in its interaction with viral methyltransferase and ORF3 proteins. Sci. Rep. 6, 25133.

  • Surjit M, Ganti KP*, Mukherji A*, Tao Y, Hua G, Metzger D, Li M, Chambon P. 2011. Widespread negative response elements mediate direct repression by agonist-liganded glucocorticoid receptor. Cell. 145, 224-241.

  • Surjit M, Lal SK. 2008. The SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein: a protein with multifarious activities. Infect Genet Evol. 4, 397-405.

  • Surjit M, Jameel S, Lal SK. 2007. Cytoplasmic localization of the ORF2 protein of hepatitis E virus is dependent on its ability to undergo retrotranslocation from the endoplasmic reticulum. J Virol. 81, 3339-3345.

  • Surjit M, Lal SK. 2007. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 phosphorylates and regulates the stability of p27kip1 protein. Cell Cycle. 6, 580-588.

  • Surjit M, Liu B, Chow VT, Lal SK. 2006. The nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus inhibits the activity of cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase complex and blocks S phase progression in mammalian cells. J Biol Chem. 281, 10669-10681.

  • Surjit M, Oberoi R, Kumar R, Lal SK. 2006. Enhanced alpha1 microglobulin secretion from Hepatitis E virus ORF3-expressing human hepatoma cells is mediated by the tumor susceptibility gene 101. J Biol Chem. 281, 8135-8142.

  • Surjit M, Kumar R, Mishra RN, Reddy MK, Chow VT, Lal SK. 2005. The SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein is phosphorylated and localizes in the cytoplasm by 14-3-3 mediated translocation. J Virol. 79,11476-11486.

  • Surjit M, Jameel S, Lal SK. 2004. The ORF2 protein of hepatitis E virus binds the 5' region of viral RNA. J Virol. 78, 320-328.

  • Surjit M, Liu B, Jameel S, Chow VT, Lal SK. 2004. The SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein induces actin reorganization and apoptosis in COS-1 cells in the absence of growth factors. Biochem J. 383, 8-13.

  • Surjit M, Liu B, Kumar P, Chow VT, Lal SK. 2004. The nucleocapsid protein of the SARS coronavirus is capable of self-association through a C-terminal 209 amino acid interaction domain. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 317, 1030-1036.

  • Sharma K, Surjit M, Satija N, Liu B, Chow VT, Lal SK. 2007. The 3a accessory protein of SARS coronavirus specifically interacts with the 5'UTR of its genomic RNA, Using a unique 75 amino acid interaction domain. Biochemistry. 46, 6488-6499.

  • Tyagi S, Surjit M, Lal SK. 2005. The ORF3 protein of Hepatitis E Virus interacts with Bikunin, a Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor, using its 41 amino acid C-terminal region. J Virol. 79, 12081-12087.

  • Tyagi S, Surjit M, Roy AK, Jameel S, Lal SK. 2004. The ORF3 protein of hepatitis E virus interacts with liver-specific alpha1-microglobulin and its precursor alpha1-microglobulin/bikunin precursor (AMBP) and expedites their export from the hepatocyte. J Biol Chem. 279, 29308-29319.

* Equal contributors

 

Published Protocols

  • Nair VP, Surjit M. 2017. RNA Strand Displacement Assay for Hepatitis E Virus Helicase. Bio-protocol. 7, e2198.

  • Nair VP, Anang S, Srivastava A, Surjit M. 2017. RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Assay for Hepatitis E Virus. Bio-protocol. 7, e2199.

  • R Verma, S Raj, U Berry, CT Ranjith-Kumar, M Surjit. 2022. Drug repurposing for COVID-19 therapy: Pipeline, current status and challenges. Drug Repurposing for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Cancer (ed. Sunil Lal and R. C. Sobti)  Springer, Germany.
  • R Verma, R Kaur, S K Lal, M Surjit. 2021. Insight into molecular evolution and increased transmissibility of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2. Uncovering the Science of COVID-19 (ed. VTK Chow and S K Lal) World Scientific Publishing Co. India.

  • M. Surjit and S. K. Lal. 2010. ORF3 protein of Hepatitis E virus: possible structural and regulatory functions during viral pathogenesis. (eds. D. Raghunath & V. Nagaraja) Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis. Macmillan, Bangalore. p 168-182.

  • M. Surjit and S. K. Lal. 2010. The nucleocapsid protein of the SARS Coronavirus: Structure, Function and Therapeutic potential. (ed. S. K. Lal) Molecular Biology of the SARS-Coronavirus. Springer. Germany. p129-151.

  • M. Surjit, Bhavna Varshney and S. K. Lal. 2006. Molecular biology of the Severe Acute respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Coronavirus. (ed. T. Mizutani) Molecular Biology of the SARS-Coronavirus. Transworld Research Network, India. p1-16.

  • Surjit M, Gupta J.  2019. Mutant HEV pORF2 based antigens and uses thereof. Indian patent application no: 201911013062.

  • Surjit M, Anang S. 2018. A cyclic peptide and pharmaceutical composition comprising the same for inhibiting proliferation of HEV. Indian Patent Application No. PCT/IN2018/050475.
  • Chambon P, Metzger, Surjit M. 2014. Process for Identifying Novel Anti-Inflammatory Molecules with Reduced Direct Transrepression of Genes Induced by Glucocorticoids. US patent publication no: 20140093884, European patent publication no. 2697393.
  • Ramalingaswamy re-entry fellowship - 2011, Department of Biotechnology
  • Ramanujan fellowship - 2011, Department of Science and Technology

 

Current members

Mr Rohit Verma (Graduate student)

Mr Amit Kumar (Graduate student)

Ms Jaskaran Kaur  (graduate student)

Ms Shabnam Ansari (Graduate student)

Mr Oinam Ninghthemmani Singh (Graduate student)

Ms Samriddhi Mehta (Graduate student)

Ms Umang Berry (Graduate student)

Ms Sreemoyee Ghosh (Graduate student)

Dr Shiv kumar  (Project Associate II)

Mr Kannan Chandrasekar (Project associate-I)

Ms Geetika Anand (Project associate-I)

Mr Jayveer Singh (Lab attendant)

 

Past members                                                    

Mr Sumeet Jain (Msc trainee)                                    

Ms Karishma Bakshi (Junior research Fellow)           

Ms Akriti Shrivastava (Junior research Fellow)            

Ms Vidya P. Nair (Senior research fellow)                  

Mr Ravi Jain  (Junior research Fellow)                     

Mr Soumajeet Mukherjee (Junior research fellow)     

Ms Sheetal Kaul (Junior research fellow)                   

Ms Anshu Sharma (Short term trainee)            

Mr S. Chandru (graduate student)                             

Ms Saumya Anang (graduate student)                      

Ms Nidhi Kaushik  (graduate student)

Ms Smita Hingane  (graduate student)

Ms Kritika Chugh (Short term trainee)

Mr Anurag Kumar (Short term trainee)

Mr Priyanshu Walia (Short term trainee)

Ms Parul Sharma (Short term trainee)

Mr Sattwik Das (Short term trainee)

Dr Jaya Gandhi (Post-doctoral fellow)

Dr Ankita Gupta (Post-doctoral fellow)  

Dr Nidhi Gupta (Post-doctoral fellow)

Dr Mukesh Kumar Yadav (Senior project associate)

Ms Shivangi Shukla (Project associate-I)

Dr Jyoti Gupta (Research Scientist)

Ms Shubhi Srivastava (Short term trainee)

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