Christopher B. Wilson, M.D.
Professor, Immunology and Pediatrics
Chair, Department of Immunology

Department of Immunology
University of Washington
Office H-564 HSC, Box 357650
1959 NE Pacific Street
Seattle, WA 98195-7650
Tel: 206.685-3956
Fax: 206.616-4561
Email: cbwilson@u.washington.edu

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Dr. Wilson graduated summa cum laude with Honors in Biological Sciences from the University of California,
Irvine, and received his MD from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1972. He completed training
in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, then trained in infectious diseases and immunology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has been with the University of Washington since 1979.

Linking Innate to Adaptive Immunity to Infection: Our laboratory is interested in understanding how microbes evade recognition by the immune system, and conversely, mechanisms by which the innate immune system senses microbial invasion and alerts the adaptive immune system during the primary immune response. We are exploring the specificity and mechanisms by which Toll-like receptors contribute to microbial recognition and activation of innate immunity and, thereafter, of antigen-specific immunity. Ongoing studies seek to determine the biological importance of differences between Toll-like receptors of humans, other primates and mice in their ability to recognize variant ligands and in the specific cell types on which they are expressed. These studies and studies of developmental differences in innate immune responses are pursued to gain a more complete understanding of Toll-like receptor-dependent and -independent aspects of antigen-specific immunity to bacterial and viral pathogens and to use this knowledge to develop more effective vaccines.

Transcriptional and Epigenetic Mechanisms Governing Interferon-gamma Expression and T cell Effector Functions: In turn, we seek to determine the mechanisms through which cues provided by the innate immune system induce and sustain robust and differential expression of interferon-gamma vs. IL-22 and IL-17 in T cell subsets and the molecular mechanisms by which this differential expression is achieved. Our group has helped to define the role of differential DNA methylation, post-translational histone modifications and higher-order chromatin structure in the control of T cell effector functions, and have shown that epigenetic profiles can be used to identify comprehensively the transcription regulatory elements that govern cytokine gene expression and to illuminate the processes by which they act. We use genomic and conventional molecular and cellular biological approaches and generate and analyze transgenic and knockout mice to address these questions. We are particularly interested in studying processes as they occur in the context of the host response to bacterial (Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, Mycorbacterium tuberculosis) and viral (LCMV, herpes simplex virus) infections in vivo.

Students currently training in the Wilson Lab: Olumuyiwa Awoniyi, Meredith Mathis, Tony Raubitschek

Selected Publications:

Makar, K.W., Perez-Melgosa, M., Shnyreva, M., Weaver, W.M., Fitzpatrick, D. R., Wilson, C.B. Active recruitment of DNA methyltransferases regulates interleukin 4 in thymocyte and T cells. Nature Immunol, 4:1183-1190, 2003.

Shnyreva, M, Weaver, W.M., Blanchette, M.,Taylor, S.L., Tompa, M., Fitzpatrick, D.R., Wilson, C.B. Evolutionarily conserved sequence elements that positively regulate IFN-y expression in T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci. USA. 101:12622-12627, 2004.

Makar, K.W., Wilson, C.B. DNA methylation is a non-redundant repressor of the Th2 effector program. J Immunol, 173:4402-4406, 2004.

Orr, M.T., Edelmann, K.H., Vieira, J., Corey, L., Raulet, D.H., Wilson, C.B. Inhibition of MHC class I is a virulence factor in herpes simplex virus infection of mice. PLoS Pathogens 1:e7, 2005.

Wilson, C.B., Merkenschlager, M. Chromatin structure and gene regulation in T cell development and function. Curr Opin Immunol. 18:143-151, 2006.

Kollmann TR, Reikie B, Blimkie D, Way SS, Hajjar AM, Arispe K, Shaulov A, Wilson CB. Induction of Protective Immunity to Listeria monocytogenes in Neonates. J Immunol 178:3695-3701, 2007.

Orr MT, Orgun NN, Wilson CB, Way SS. Cutting Edge: Recombinant Listeria monocytogenes expressing a single immune-dominant peptide confers protective immunity to herpes simplex virus-1 infection. J Immunol 1789:4731-5, 2007.

Schoenborn JR, Dorschner MO, Sekimata M, Santer DM, Shnyreva M, Fitzptrick DR, Stamatoyannopoulos JA, Wilson CB. Comprehensive epigenetic profiling identifies multiple distal regulatory elements directing transcription of the gene encoding interferon-gamma. Nature Immunol 8:732-43, 2007.

Orr MT, Mathis MA, Lagunoff M, Sacks JA , Wilson CB. CD8 T cell control of HSV reactivation from latency is abrogated by viral inhibition of MHC class I. Cell Host and Microbe. 2: 172-180, 2007.

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Updated 10/15/07