Edward A. Clark, Ph.D.

 

Professor, Department of Microbiology
Professor, Department of Immunology
Adjunct Professor of Medicine

 
1959 NE Pacific Street
Box 357242, HSB I319A
Seattle, WA 98195-7650
Phone: 206-543-8706
Fax: 206-616-6772
Email: eclark@wanprc.org

 

 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• B.A., Psychology and Zoology, University of California, Los Angeles
• Ph.D., Microbiology/Immunology, University of California, Los Angeles

 

CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

• Adaptive Immune Responses
• Infectious Diseases
• Innate Immunity
• Tolerance & Autoimmunity

 

A major goal of Dr. Clark’s lab has been to define receptors and ligands regulating B cells and dendritic cells (DCs) and to help translate findings for use in clinical immunology. His lab helped discover and characterize human B cell/DC-associated surface molecules like CD20, CD22, CD40, CD80 (B7.1), CD150 (SLAM) and CD180 (RP105). Recently, the lab has focused on defining C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) on DCs including DCAL1, which binds to a ligand on CD4 T cells and promotes IL-4 production, and DCAL2, which is a useful marker to identify and isolate mouse DC subsets. In order to assess the function of CLRs and their possible use for vaccine development, Dr. Clark’s lab has coupled antigens (Ags) to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for CLRs expressed on DC subsets. The Ag-mAb conjugates are inoculated into mice as a kind of ‘antigen-delivery system’, which enables Ags to be selectively targeted to a particular DC subset, which then responses and programs an appropriate, protective immune response. Transgenic mice expressing human CLRs such as DCAL1 or BDCA2 have been made and are being used as preclinical vaccine models for assessing Ag-anti-human CLR conjugates in vivo.

 

B cells are very social cells; their behavior is influenced not only by T cells, but also by Ag presented in different forms including in association with DCs or macrophages. DCs and macrophages also produce cytokines like BAFF, which are essential for B cell survival and maturation. The Clark lab investigates how DCs regulate B cell responses. Current projects in this area include: 1) defining the role CD22 and other B cell/DC-associated receptors play in protective immune responses to West Nile virus; 2) characterizing how TLR7 regulates and dysregulates B cell development and antibody production; 3) defining how DCs program B cells to develop extrafollicular Ab responses or germinal centers and long-lived humoral immunity; 4) investigating how BAFF from different cell sources regulates B cell responses to Ag.

 

 

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

 

1. Hughes GC, Thomas S, Li C, Kaja MK, Clark EA. Progesterone regulates IFN-α production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells, J Immunol Cutting Edge, 180:2029-2033, 2008.
    
2. Hughes GC, Martin DA, Zhang K, Alpers CE, Clark EA, Elkon KB. Progesterone treatment of lupus-prone NZB/W mice decreases glomerulonephritis and TH1-associated autoantibody production, Arthritis Rheum 60:1775-1784, 2009.
    
3. Ma D, Clark EA. Role of CD40 and CD40L in dendritic cells, Seminars Immunol 21:265-272, 2009.
    
4. Suthar MS, Ma D, Thomas S, Daffis S, Lund J, Zhang N, Rudensky AY, Bevan MJ, Clark EA, Krisha-Kaja M, Diamond MS, Gale Jr M. IPS-1 is essential for the control of West Nile virus infection and immunity, PLos Pathogens, 6:e1000757, 2010.
    
5. Yurchenko MY, Kovalevska LM, Shlapatska LM, Berdova GG, Clark EA, Sidorenko SP. CD150 regulates JNK1/2 activation in normal and Hodgkin’s lymphoma B cells, Immunol Cell Biol, 88:565-74, 2010.
    
6. Yin L, Chino T, Horst OV, Hacker BM, Clark EA, Dale BA, Chung WO. Differential and coordinated expression of defensins and cytokines by gingival epithelial cells and dendritic cells in response to oral bacteria, BMC Immunology 11:37, 2010.
    
7. Giordano D, Li C, Suthar MS, Draves KE, Ma DY, Gale MG Jr, Clark EA. Role of nitric oxide in dendritic cell survival, cytokine production and induction of Th17 and Th1 T cell responses, J Leukocyte Biol, 89: 443-455, 2011.
    
8. Porakishvili N, Memon A, Vispute K, Kulikova N, Clark EA, Rai K, Nathwani A, Damle RN, Chiorazzi N, Lydyard PM. CD180 functions in activation, survival and cycling of B chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells, Bri J Hematol 153:486-498, 2011.
    
9. Chaplin JW, Kasahara S, Clark EA, Ledbetter JA. Anti-CD180 (RP105) activates B cells to rapidly produce polyclonal Ig via a T cell and MyD88-independent pathway, J Immunol 187:4199-4209, 2011.
    
10. Richards SM, Li C, Draves KE, Niiro H, Dinauer MC, Clark EA. The adaptor protein Bam32 regulates G1 cycle progression downstream of B cell receptor signaling, Europ J Immunol, submitted, 2011.
     
11. Watanabe C, Shu GL, Clark EA. Caspase 6 regulates early B cell differentiation, Europ J Immunol, submitted 2011.
     
12. Kasahara S, Clark EA. Dendritic cell-associated lectin 2 (DCAL2) defines a distinct CD8α- dendritic cell subset, J Leukocyte Biol, 91:437-448, 2012.
     

 

 

Quick Links:

Elkon Lab | Division Publications | Clinical Faculty

 

 

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