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Chairperson, Department of Microbiology and Immunology Professor, Microbiology and Immunology Telephone: 215-707-3207 Fax: 215-707-7788 Email: doina.ganea@temple.edu
Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyCenter for Substance Abuse Research
The major research interests and most of the current research in my laboratory are in the field of neuroimmunology. Although the bidirectional communications between the neuroendocrine and the immune systems are well recognized today, the molecular mechanisms through which the two systems communicate are largely unknown. We are concerned in particular with the effects of neuropeptides on the immune system and response. Our latest research focuses on two neuropeptides produced by both the nervous and immune system, the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and the pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP). We study the expression and regulation of specific VIP/PACAP receptors in various immune cells, and their involvement in the immunoregulatory effects of VIP and PACAP. We also study the mechanisms by which these neuropeptides affect cytokine production in macrophages and T cells, including transduction pathways and transcriptional factors. Recently we developed new areas of research related to the effect of neuropeptides on T cell survival from activation-induced apoptosis, on T cell differentiation into Th1/Th2 effector cells, and on the development of tolerogenic dendritic cells and subsequently of antigen-specific regulatory T cells. We correlate the various in vitro effects with effects in vivo, especially in pathological conditions, such as septic shock, graft-versus-host disease, and models of autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Postdoctoral Fellows:
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Doina Ganea, PhD 