Immunology Graduate Program

Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Immune System

Nicholas Zavazava, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Office: 42-6 GH
Phone: 384-6577
Email: nicholas-zavazava@uiowa.edu
Immunobiology of cellular transplants derived from embryonic stem cells
 
Due to their pluripotency, embryonic stem (ES) cells provide an unparalled source of cells that can be directed towards the generation of any cell type desired. This opens up opportunities for establishing new therapies for manipulating the immune system and for the treatment of degenerative diseases. Our laboratory is interested in understanding the transcriptional regulatory requirements for deriving hematopoietic cells from ES cells. ES cells are coaxed to differentiate into hematopoietic progenitor cells that express low levels of MHC class I and class II antigens, a characteristic that allows for their transplantation across MHC barriers without the need for immunosuppressive therapy. Current topics include:

1. Efficacy of HOXB4 to promote the differentiation ES cells into definitive hematopoietic cells.

2. Role of NK cells in the engraftment of ES-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells and T cell-mediated clonal deletion of allogenic ES-derived cells.

3. Induction of transplantation tolerance by ES-derived hematopoietic cells.

4. De novo generation of T cells from ES-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells.
 
Selected Publications
Click Here for a Complete List of Articles
Tabayoyong, W.B., Salas, J.G., Bonde, S. and  Zavazava  N. HOXB4 transduced ES cell-derived Linc-c-kit+ and Lin-Sca-1+ hematopoietic progenitors express H60 and are targeted by NK cells. J. Immunol. (in press).

Bonde, S., Chan, K.M. and  Zavazava  N. ES-cell derived hematopoietic cells induce transplantation tolerance. Plos One, 3(9): e3212, 2008.

Chan, K.M., Bonde, S., Klump, H. and  Zavazava  N. Hematopoiesis and immunity of HOXB4-transduced embryonic stem cell-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells. Blood 111(6):2953-61, 2008.

Bonde, S. and  Zavazava  N. Immunogenicity and engraftment of mouse embryonic stem cells in allogeneic recipients. Stem Cells. (10):2192-201, 2006.

Faendrich, F., Lin, X., Chai, G.X., Huang, D.S., Ganten, D., Bader, M., Schulze, M., Holle, J., Parwaresch, R.,  Zavazava  N. and Binas, B. Preimplantation-stage stem cells induce allogeneic graft tolerance without supplementary host conditioning. Nature Med 8:171-178, 2002.

Department/Program Affiliations
Internal Medicine
Biosciences
Immunology
MSTP