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Richard Coico, PhD

Professor, Microbiology and Immunology

Senior Associate Dean for Research

Telephone:  215-707-4605

Fax:  215-707-5149

Email: rcoico@temple.edu

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

New York University School of Medicine, PhD

 

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The physiology of immunoglobulin D (IgD) in the immune system remains elusive. IgD is a transmembrane Ig co-expressed with IgM on B lymphocytes. In contract with IgM and other Ig isotypes (e.g., IgG, IgA), IgD is down-regulated following B-cell activation rendering these cells IgD-negative. IgD is secreted by some activated B cells only in minute quantities (hence, serum levels are typically in the microgram/ml level). Dr. Coico’s laboratory seeks to understand both the physiologic role(s) played by IgD and, in particular, whether it plays a major role in the development of autoimmune diseases. Using an IgD-knockout mouse strain, his lab is investigating whether the absence of IgD on B cells: (a) impacts the ability of B cells to respond to normal activation signals that lead to T cell activation and antibody responses, and (b) predisposes mice to autoimmunity using a myosin-induced autoimmune myocarditis model.

A second area of investigation underway in Dr. Coico’s laboratory uses to help us identify candidate vaccines for a wide variety of pathogens play an important role in defining epitopes that have the potential to be immunogenic. The major research interest of Dr. Coico’s laboratory is the identification of candidate vaccines for several hemorrhagic viruses, including Lassa Fever Virus. Lassa virus causes a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic disease. Lassa fever is endemic in rural Africa and has been estimated to cause more than 300,000 infections/year. There are currently no vaccines to protect individuals from this infection. Using computational methods together with bioinformatics tools, Dr. Coico’s group recently identified immunogenic Lassa virus peptides (epitopes) that may serve as candidate vaccine components. These peptides occur within the Lassa virus glycoprotein and, when synthesized and used to immunize mice expressing human MHC antigens, they induce peptide-specific cytotoxic T cells. Cytotoxic T cells are crucial for protective immune responses to viruses. These findings provide direct evidence for the existence of Lassa virus-derived epitopes that may be useful in the development of protective vaccines against this hemorrhagic virus. Similar studies have been successfully carried out using computationally identified Ebola virus epitopes.

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RF Coico and G Sunshine. Immunology: A Short Course, 6th Edition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ; (2009).

S Gottesman and W Strober. Immunology: Clinical Cases, Editors: R.F. Coico and G. Sunshine. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ; (2009).

RF Coico and G Lunn. Biosafety Guidelines for Working with Pathogens and Infectious Microorganisms. In: Current Protocols in Microbiology 2008, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.

RF Coico, G Sunshine, and E Benjamini. Immunology: A Short Course, 5th Edition John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ; 2003.

E Benjamini, RF Coico, and G Sunshine. Immunology: A Short Course, 4th Edition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ; 2000.

RF Coico. Method for Gram Staining. In: Current Protocols in Immunology, Vol. 3, Ed. J. Coligan et al., John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ; 1997.

RF Coico and A. Amin. Purification of human and murine immunoglobulin D (IgD). In: Current Protocols in Immunology, Ed. D. Margulies, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ; 1997.

RF Coico. ELISPOT Assay for Measurement of Antigen-Specific and Polyclonal Antibody Responses. In: Current Protocols in Immunology, Vol. 2, pp 7.14.1-7.14.7. Ed. J. Coligan et. al., John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ; 1996.

L Staiano-Coico and RF Coico. Applications of Flow Cytometry and Sorting in Molecular Biology and Genetics. In: Recombinant DNA Technology. Concepts and Biomedical Applications. Ed. M. Steinberg, Prentice Hall Inc., NJ; 1993.

RF Coico, S Swenson, GW Siskind and GJ Thorbecke. Impact of IgD receptor-positive T cells on the immune response. In: Histophysiology of the immune system: The life history, organization, and interaction of its cell populations. Ed. S. Fossum, Plenum Press, New York; 1988.

RF Coico, SRS Gottesman, GW Siskind and GJ Thorbecke. Deficient expression of receptors for IgD on T cells of aged mice. In: Topics in Aging Research Vol. 9 EURAGE, Rijswijk, The Netherlands; 1986.

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Recent Medically Related Publications, Obtained from PubMed (Click on PubMed ID to view abstract)

19412909. Burnett LC, Lunn G, Coico R, Biosafety: guidelines for working with pathogenic and infectious microorganisms. Curr Protoc Microbiol Chapter 1:(Unit 1A.1)2009 May

19347846. Andrew SM, Titus JA, Amin A, Coico R, Isolation of murine and human immunoglobulin m and murine immunoglobulin D. Curr Protoc Immunol Chapter 2:(Unit 2.9)2009 Apr

19096163. Coico R, Woodruff-Pak DS, Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease: harnessing our knowledge of T cell biology using a cholesterol-fed rabbit model. J Alzheimers Dis 15:4(657-71)2008 Dec

18770561. Coico R, Lunn G, Biosafety: guidelines for working with pathogenic and infectious microorganisms. Curr Protoc Microbiol Chapter 1A:(Unit 1A.1)2005 Jul

18770544. Coico R, Gram staining. Curr Protoc Microbiol Appendix 3:(Appendix 3C)2005 Oct

18432937. Coico R, Lunn G, Biosafety: guidelines for working with pathogenic and infectious microorganisms. Curr Protoc Immunol Appendix 1:(Appendix 1V)2005 Nov

18432828. Lycke NY, Coico R, Measurement of immunoglobulin synthesis using the ELISPOT assay. Curr Protoc Immunol Chapter 7:(Unit 7.14)2001 May

18432773. Andrew SM, Titus JA, Coico R, Amin A, Purification of immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin D. Curr Protoc Immunol Chapter 2:(Unit 2.9)2001 May

18432666. Coico R, Gram staining. Curr Protoc Immunol Appendix 3:(Appendix 3O)2001 May

17123567. Sundar K, Boesen A, Coico R, Computational prediction and identification of HLA-A2.1-specific Ebola virus CTL epitopes. Virology 360:2(257-63)2007 Apr 10

16210487. Boesen A, Sundar K, Coico R, Lassa fever virus peptides predicted by computational analysis induce epitope-specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte responses in HLA-A2.1 transgenic mice. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 12:10(1223-30)2005 Oct

15729784. Tsiagbe VK, Coico R, Ponzio NM, Zolla-Pazner S, Remembrance: G. Jeanette Thorbecke. Autoimmunity 35:2(75-78)2002 Mar

15044173. Coico R, Kachur E, Lima V, Lipper S, Guidelines for preclerkship bioterrorism curricula. Acad Med 79:4(366-75)2004 Apr

14725319. Steinbach WJ, Mitchell TG, Schell WA, Espinel-Ingroff A, Coico RF, Walsh TJ, Perfect JR, Status of medical mycology education. Med Mycol 41:6(457-67)2003 Dec

12773509. Tamma SM, Coico RF, IgD-receptor (IgD-R) cross-linking partially protects murine T cells from dexamethasone-induced apoptosis. J Leukoc Biol 73:6(764-70)2003 Jun

12057894. Tsiagbe VK, Zolla-Pazner S, Coico R, Ponzio NM, In memorium G. Jeanette Thorbecke, 1929-2001. Am J Pathol 160:6(1917-20)2002 Jun

11937517. Tsiagbe VK, Coico R, Ponzio NM, Zolla-Pazner S, In memoriam: G. Jeanette Thorbecke 1929-2001. J Immunol 168:8(3695-6)2002 Apr 15

11243700. Lakshmi Tamma SM, Wu Y, Toporovsky I, Lima V, Coico RF, IgD receptor-mediated signal transduction in T cells. Cell Immunol 207:2(110-7)2001 Feb 1

10087188. Wu Y, Lakshmi Tamma SM, Lima V, Coico R, Facilitated antigen presentation by B cells expressing IgD when responding T cells express IgD-receptors. Cell Immunol 192:2(194-202)1999 Mar 15

9710214. Swenson CD, Patel T, Parekh RB, Tamma SM, Coico RF, Thorbecke GJ, Amin AR, Human T cell IgD receptors react with O-glycans on both human IgD and IgA1. Eur J Immunol 28:8(2366-72)1998 Aug

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Joanne Manns, PhD

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