Trgovcich, Joanne

Joanne Trgovcich, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology.  She also holds the position of Docent Professor at the University of Rijeka Medical School in Croatia.  Dr. Trgovcich joined Ohio State University in 2002 and is a faculty member of the Integrated Biosciences Graduate Program and the Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.  In 2003, Dr. Trgovcich was the recipient of the GlaxoSmithKline Elion Research Award.  She received her B.S. at Purdue University, her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her postdoctoral training at the University of Rijeka, Croatia and the University of Chicago.

The most fundamental unresolved question in herpes virus biology is how these viruses establish life long infections. The answer, in part, may relate to findings demonstrating that herpes viruses have evolved strategies to interfere with both innate and specific host immune responses.  The primary research effort in the Trgovcich laboratory is the discovery and characterization of strategies by which herpes simplex type 1 and human cytomegalovirus evade or modulate host immune responses.  Towards this end, we are investigating the biology of these ancient viruses at a molecular/genetic level, including identifying novel viral genes or gene functions which may influence host immune responses. We are also examining the mechanisms by which viral gene products manipulate or subvert cellular functions related to initiation or maintenance of virus-specific immunity.  The goals of these studies are to understand how viral immune evasion strategies influence the pathogenesis of these virus infections, and to apply the knowledge of how viruses subvert the immune system towards better strategies to treat or prevent not only herpes virus infections, but also tumors, and diseases associated with immune dysfunction.

Selected Publications

Trgovcich, Joanne,  Colleen Cebulla, Pete Zimmerman, and Daniel D. Sedmak. Human cytomegalovirus protein pp71 disrupts major histocompatibility complex class I cell surface expression. 2006. J Virol. 80: 951-963.

Charles H. Cook, Joanne Trgovcich, Peter D. Zimmerman, Yingxue Zhang, Daniel D. Sedmak.  LPS, TNF-a, or IL-1ß trigger reactivation of latent cytomegalovirus in immunocompetent mice. 2006. J. Virol. 80:9151-8.

Trgovcich, Joanne, David Johnson and Bernard Roizman.  Cell surface major histocompatibility complex class II proteins are regulated by the products of the gamma(1)34.5 and U(L)41 genes of herpes simplex virus 1. 2002.  J Virol. 76:6974-86.

Neurath, Markus F., Edward E. S. Nieuwenhuis, Joanne Trgovcich, Stefan Wirtz, Jonathan Glickman, Hideki Iijima, Nadia Corazza, Masaru Yoshida, Peter R. Galle, Mark Birkenbach, and Richard S. Blumberg. Disruption of Dendritic Cell Dependent T helper 2-Mediated Immune Responses in Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 Deficient Mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2002
99:16951-6.

Charles, Peter, C., Joanne Trgovcich, Nancy L. Davis, and Robert E. Johnston.  Immunopathogenesis and immune modulation of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus-induced disease in the mouse. 2001. Virology. 284:190-202.

Trgovcich, Joanne, Davor Stimac, Bojan Polic, Ester Pernjak-Pugel, Jelena Tomac, and Stipan Jonjic. Virulence of murine cytomegalovirus is linked to suppression of immune responses and late induction of tumor necrosis factor-a and interferon-g. 2000.  Archives of Virology. 145:2601-2618.

Polic, Bojan, Hartmut Hengel, Astrid Krmpotic, Joanne Trgovcich, Ivica Pavic, Pero Lucin, Stipan Jonjic and Ulrich H. Koszinowski.  Hierarchical and redundant lymphocyte subset control precludes cytomegalovirus replication during latent infection. 1998.  J. Exp. Med. 188:1047-1054.

Trgovcich, Joanne,  Kate Ryman, Pam Extrom, J. Charles Eldridge, Judith F. Aronson and Robert E. Johnston. Sindbis virus infection of neonatal mice results in a severe stress response. 1997 Virology: 227: 234-238.

Laboratory Personnel

Contact

e-mail: joanne.trgovcich@osumc.edu
phone: 614-688-8689

4162 Graves Hall
333 W Tenth Avenue 
Columbus OH
43210