Overview
The Rothenberg laboratory is focused on elucidating the mechanisms of allergic responses especially in mucosal tissues such as the lung and the gastrointestinal tract. The goal of the research is to identify novel pharmaceutical targets for the treatment of patients with eosinophilic diseases including eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders, hypereosinophilic syndromes, asthma and food allergies. The laboratory has identified and biologically characterized several critical pathways that regulate allergic responses. These discoveries include eosinophil effector mechanisms and the chemokine eotaxin/CCR-3 pathway.
Eosinophils have been considered end-stage cells involved in host protection against parasites. However, numerous lines of evidence have now changed this perspective by showing that eosinophils are pleiotropic multi-functional leukocytes involved in initiation and propagation of diverse inflammatory responses, as well as modulators of innate and adaptive immunity. New views on the role of eosinophils in homeostatic function are being examined including developmental biology and innate and adaptive immunity (as well as interaction with mast cells and T cells). The molecular steps involved in eosinophil development and trafficking are studied; with special attention to the important role of the transcription factor GATA-l, the eosinophil selective cytokine IL-5 and the eotaxin subfamily of chemokines. The role of eosinophils in disease processes including infections, asthma, and gastrointestinal disorders are being investigated. The consequences of genetically engineering eosinophil deficient mice are being studied. Genetic approaches to understanding eosinophil-associated human diseases are a focus area. Finally, strategies for targeted therapeutic intervention in eosinophil-mediated mucosal diseases are being pursued.
Current projects are:
- To elucidate the cellular and molecular processes involved in allergic responses in the gastrointestinal tract and lung using a variety of approaches including novel models of allergic responses in-vivo and in-vitro.
- To test the importance of key molecules including chemokines and cytokines in vivo using transgenic and gene-targeted mice.
- To biochemically characterize the transcriptional programs, regulating molecules and signal transduction mechanisms responsible for eosinophil development and activation.
- To test the importance and blockade of these pathways in patients with inflammatory diseases such as eosinophilic esophagitis and hypereosinophilic syndromes.
- To identify genes and key check points that predispose to eosinophilic disorders.
Contact Us
Directions to Rothenberg Lab
Many Thanks to our Funding Organizations
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