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J Control Release 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; The Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address:

Despite success in vaccinating populations against SARS-CoV-2, concerns about immunity duration, continued efficacy against emerging variants, protection from infection and transmission, and worldwide vaccine availability remain. Molecular adjuvants targeting pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) on antigen-presenting cells (APCs) could improve and broaden the efficacy and durability of vaccine responses. Native SARS-CoV-2 infection stimulates various PRRs, including toll-like receptors (TLRs) and retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors. Read More

Immunol Lett 2022 May 13. Epub 2022 May 13.

Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Integrated Medical Science Department, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, PO Box 3091, Boca Raton, Florida, 33431, USA.

It is known that cigarette smoke compromises the immune system and increases the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. We reported that nicotine, the immunosuppressive component of cigarette smoke, disrupts the functional properties of DC and DC crosstalk with NK cells, which is pivotal in the initiation of immune responses to vaccines. We also showed that select TLR agonists could reduce the degrading effects of nicotine on DC-NK mediated immune responses in vitro. Read More

Cells 2022 Apr 24;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 24.

Institute of Biochemistry, Medical School, Justus-Liebig-University, 35392 Giessen, Germany.

Self-extracellular RNA (eRNA), which is released under pathological conditions from damaged tissue, has recently been identified as a new alarmin and synergistic agent together with toll-like receptor (TLR)2 ligands to induce proinflammatory activities of immune cells. In this study, a detailed investigation of these interactions is reported. The macrophage cell line J774 A. Read More

Cancer Treat Res 2022 ;183:91-129

Department of Neurosurgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.

Malignant tumors frequently exploit innate immunity to evade immune surveillance. The priming, function, and polarization of antitumor immunity fundamentally depends upon context provided by the innate immune system, particularly antigen presenting cells. Such context is determined in large part by sensing of pathogen specific and damage associated features by pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs). Read More

EBioMedicine 2022 Apr 29;80:104037. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Ave. Charleston, Charleston, SC 29425, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA; Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC, USA. Electronic address:

Background: In HIV infection, even under long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART), up to 20% of HIV-infected individuals fail to restore CD4+ T cell counts to the levels similar to those of healthy controls. The mechanisms of poor CD4+ T cell reconstitution on suppressive ART are not fully understood.

Methods: Here, we tested the hypothesis that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from bacteria enriched in the plasma from immune non-responders (INRs) contributes to blunted CD4+ T cell recovery on suppressive ART in HIV. Read More