Susan R. Compton

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Yale University
School of Medicine
Comparative Medicine
Research ScientistAppointed: 1997

Mailing Address

BML B33
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8016
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (203) 785-6733
Fax: (203) 785-7499
susan.compton@yale.edu

Qualifications

Ph.D., Uniformed Service University, Microbiology, 1988.
B.S., Bucknell University, Biology, 1981.

Expertise and Research Interests

Description:
1. Noroviruses (formerly called Norwalk-like viruses) infect humans, cows, pigs and mice. They are emerging human pathogens that cause greater than ninety percent of all epidemic viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States. Until recently, norovirus research was hampered by the failure of these viruses to grow in cultured cells and the lack of a small animal model. Murine norovirus was identified in 2003 as a new mouse pathogen, and it is the first and only norovirus to be grown in cell culture. Murine norovirus 1 (MNV-1) causes a subclinical infection in immunocompetent mice without significant tissue pathology. In contrast, MNV-1 caused a disseminated lethal infection in mice with deficient innate immune responses (STAT-/- mice). We have isolated 13 strains of MNV from fecal samples collected from asymptomatic mice. Sequences of a portion of the capsid gene from these strains indicated that they differed substantially from previous MNV strains and they could be placed into 4 genetic groups. The objectives our research are to determine the pathogenesis and the transmissibility of one strain of MNV from each genetic cluster in adult and neonatal immunocompetent mice, and to determine if disease severity in STAT-/- mice is MNV strain dependent. These studies should aid in the development of detection, prevention and eradication strategies for MNV in laboratory mouse colonies. Additionally, they will aid in determining the relevancy of MNV as a model for human norovirus infection.

2. Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a highly transmissible coronavirus which causes frequent infections in contemporary laboratory mouse colonies. Though most natural MHV infections are self-limiting and clinically inapparent, they significantly impact biomedical research by altering research variables. MHV strains can be segregated based on their initial site of replication into respiratory R-MHV and enterotropic E-MHV strains. While E-MHV infections are the most common, few studies have been done on their pathogenesis. The objective of this project is to understand which viral and cellular proteins determine the strict enterotropism of E-MHV strains and to understand the immune responses generated againt E-MHV.

3. My other reserach interest is the development and validation of new diagnostic methods to detect rodent pathogens(coronavirus, parvovirus, norovirus, Sendai virus, rotavirus, hantavirus, mycoplasma and Helicobacter)

Other Expertise

Associate Editor for the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Bacteriology, Biomedical Research Resources, Biomedical Research Resources, Other, Communicable Diseases, Disease Control, Disease Model, Hepatitis, Immunization, Immunoassay, Microbiology, Molecular Probes, Mutagenesis, Pathogenesis, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Proteins and Macromolecules, Receptors, Respiratory Diseases, Serology, Vaccine, Viral Studies, Virology.

Additional Terms:

Bacterial Expression Systems, Communicable Diseases, Disease Control, Disease Model, Eukaryotic Expression Systems, Gastrointestinal Infection, Host Organism Interaction, Immunization, Immunoassay, Infectious Diseases/Agents, Intestinal Mucosa, Laboratory Mouse, Laboratory Rat, Molecular Probes, Murine Hepatitis Virus, Norovirus, Parvovirus, Pathogenesis, Polymerase Chain Reaction, RT-RCR, Rat Coronavirus, Receptor Binding, Respiratory Diseases, Serology, Sialodacryoadenitis Virus, Site Directed Mutagenesis, Vaccine, Viral Studies, Virion, Virology, Virulence, Virus Infection Mechanism, Virus Protein, Virus Receptor, Western Blotting.

Memberships

American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Virology
Council of Science Editors

Previous Positions

1991-1997, Assistant Professor, Yale University
1988-1990, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado at Boulder
1981-1983, University of Connecticut, Research Assistant

Funding Received

  • American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine: Enhancement of Rodent Health Monitoring in Ventilated Cage Racks, $20,000, Jul 2001 to Dec 2002.
  • American College of Laboratory Animal Science: Effect of Helicobacter hepaticus or Murine Norovirus on Mouse Parvovirus infection, 25,000, 2008 to 2009.
  • American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine: Murine Norovirus Pathogenesis and Transmissibility, 25,000, 2006 to 2007.
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH): Pathogenesis of Mouse Hepatitis Virus, 1995 to 1999.

Publications

  • Compton SR (May 2008) Prevention of murine norovirus infection in neonatal mice by fostering., Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS, 47 (3), 25-30 Abstract
  • Smith PC, Nucifora M, Reuter JD, Compton SR (Feb 2007) Reliability of soiled bedding transfer for detection of mouse parvovirus and mouse hepatitis virus., Comparative medicine, 57 (1), 90-6 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Ball-Goodrich LJ, Johnson LK, Johnson EA, Paturzo FX, Macy JD (Dec 2004) Pathogenesis of enterotropic mouse hepatitis virus in immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice., Comparative Medicine, 54 (6), 681-9 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Homberger FR, MacArthur Clark J (Nov 2004) Microbiological monitoring in individually ventilated cage systems., Lab Animal, 33 (10), 36-41 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Homberger FR, Paturzo FX, Clark JM (Aug 2004) Efficacy of three microbiological monitoring methods in a ventilated cage rack., Comparative Medicine, 54 (4), 382-92 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Jacoby RO, Paturzo FX, Smith AL (Jul 2004) Persistent Seoul virus infection in Lewis rats., Archives of Virology, 149 (7), 1325-39 Abstract
  • Smith PC, Compton SR, Are we doing enough to protect mice from infectious agents?, Comparative Medicine, 54(3), 250-1, Jun 2004 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Ball-Goodrich LJ, Paturzo FX, Macy JD (Feb 2004) Transmission of enterotropic mouse hepatitis virus from immunocompetent and immunodeficient mice., Comparative Medicine, 54 (1), 29-35 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Ball-Goodrich LJ, Zeiss CJ, Johnson LK, Johnson EA, Macy JD, Pathogenesis of mouse hepatitis virus infection in gamma interferon-deficient mice is modulated by co-infection with Helicobacter hepaticus, Comparative Medicine, 53(2), 197-206, April 2003 Abstract
  • Macy, J.D., G.A. Cameron, S.L. Ellis, E.A. Hill and S.R. Compton, Assessment of Static Isolator Cages with Automatic Watering when Used with Conventional Husbandry Techniques as a Factor in the Transmission of Mouse Hepatitis Virus, Cont. Top. Lab. Anim. Sci., 41, 30-35, Aug 2002
  • Compton, S.R. and L.K. Riley, Detection of Infectious Agents in Laboratory Rodents: Traditional and Molecular Techniques, Comparative Medicine, 51, 13-19, 2001
  • Macy, J.D., E.C. Weir, S.R. Compton, M.J. Shlomchik and D.G. Brownstein., Fatal infection with Pneumocystis carinii and Pasteurella pneumotropica in B-cell deficient mice, Comparative Medicine, 50, 49-55, 2000
  • Compton S R, Smith A L, Gaertner D G, Comparison of the Pathogenicity in Rats of Rat Coronaviruses of Different Neutralization Groups, Laboratory Animal Science, 49, 514-518, October 1999
  • Compton SR, Vivas-Gonzalez BE, Macy JD, Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerases chain Reaction-Based Diagnosis and Molecular Characterization of a New Rat Coronavirus Strain, Laboratory Animal Science, 49, 506-513, October 1999
  • Compton S R, Jacoby R O, Mouse hepatitis virus: a durable foe, Laboratory Animal Science, 48(1), 6-7, February 1998 Abstract
  • Compton SR, Interactions of enterotropic mouse hepatitis viruses with Bgp2 receptor proteins., Advanced Experimental Medicine and Biology, 440, 25-31, 1998 Abstract
  • Gaertner D J, Compton S R, Winograd D F, Smith A L, Growth characteristics and protein profiles of prototype and wild-type rat coronavirus isolates grown in a cloned subline of mouse fibroblasts (L2p.176 cells)., Virus Research, 41(1), 55-68, March 1996 Abstract
  • Compton S R, Winograd D F, Gaertner D J, Optimization of in vitro growth conditions for enterotropic murine coronavirus strains., Journal of Virological Methods, 52(3), 301-7, April 1995 Abstract
  • Kunita S, Zhang L, Homberger F R, Compton S R, Molecular characterization of the S proteins of two enterotropic murine coronavirus strains., Virus Research, 35(3), 277-89, March 1995 Abstract
  • Levis R, Cardellichio C B, Scanga C A, Compton S R, Holmes K V, Multiple receptor-dependent steps determine the species specificity of HCV-229E infection., Advances In Experimental Medicine and Biology, 380, 337-43, 1995 Abstract
  • Compton S R, Enterotropic strains of mouse coronavirus differ in their use of murine carcinoembryonic antigen-related glycoprotein receptors., Virology, 203(1), 197-201, 15 Aug 1994 Abstract
  • Gaertner D J, Compton S R, Winograd D F, Environmental stability of rat coronaviruses (RCVs), Laboratory Animal Science, 43(5), 403-4, October 1993 Abstract
  • Gaertner D J, Winograd D F, Compton S R, Paturzo F X, Smith A L, Development and optimization of plaque assays for rat coronaviruses., Journal of Virological Methods, 43(1), 53-64, June 1993 Abstract
  • Compton S R, Barthold S W, Smith A L, The cellular and molecular pathogenesis of coronaviruses, Laboratory Animal Science, 43(1), 15-28, February 1993 Abstract
  • Compton S R, Stephensen C B, Snyder S W, Weismiller D G, Holmes K V, Coronavirus species specificity: murine coronavirus binds to a mouse-specific epitope on its carcinoembryonic antigen-related receptor glycoprotein., Journal of Virology, 66(12), 7420-8, December 1992 Abstract
  • Holmes K V, Williams R K, Cardellichio C B, Compton S R, Stephensen C B, Snyder S W, Frana M F, Jiang G S, Smith A, Knobler R L, Is the 110K glycoprotein the only receptor for MHV and does its expression determine species specificity?, Advances In Experimental Medicine and Biology, 276, 37-44, 1990 Abstract
  • Compton S R, Nelson B, Kirkegaard K, Temperature-Sensitive Poliovirus Mutant that Accumulates Provirions and Fails to Cleave VP0, Journal of Virology, 64, 4067-4075, 1990
  • Compton S R, Rogers D B, Remenick J, Holmes K V, McGowan J J, In vitro replication of mouse hepatitis virus strain A59, Journal of Virology, 61, 1814-1820, 1987
  • Holmes K.V., and Compton S.R., Coronavirus receptors.In The Coronaviridae. S.G. Siddell and G.A. Levy (eds.) 1995 Plenum Press, New York

Profile Details

Last Verified: 8/15/2008

COS Expertise ID #532843
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