Satoskar, Abhay

Abhay R. Satoskar, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics.  He joined the faculty in 2001. His primary research interest is immunology of leishmaniasis.

Leishmania are obligate intracellular parasites that reside in mononuclear phagocytes and cause a wide range of diseases such as cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis. This disease is endemic throughout the parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Southern Europe and Latin America. Nearly 10% of the world population is at risk getting infected with Leishmania.  Dr. Satoskar’s research focuses on studying how cytokines regulate innate and acquired immune responses during infection with this parasites and determining the strategies used by the Leishmania to evade host immunity. The Laboratory uses murine model as well as variety of in vitro experimental approaches for these studies.  Another area of interest in the laboratory is developing a vaccine against Leishmania by identifying and characterizing possible candidate antigens and optimizing effective vaccination strategies for them. Finally, a relatively new direction of the laboratory involves studying immune mechanisms that determine the outcome of  a bioterror agent Francisella tularensis

Selected Publications

Wurster, AL., Rodgers, VL, Satoskar, AR., and Grusby, MJ. IL-21 is a Th2 cytokine that specifically inhibits IFN-gproduction during Th1 cell development. J. Exp. Med. 2002;196: 969-977.

Pien, GC., Nguyen, KB., Malmgaard, L., Satoskar, AR, and Biron, CA. Innate cytokine functions in promoting T cell responses to viral infections. J. Immunol. 2002; 169:5827-5837.

Rodriguez-Sosa, R., Rosas, LE., Bojalil, R., David, JR, Satoskar, AR*  and Terrazas, LI*. Migration inhibitory factor plays a critical role in mediating protective immunity against the extra-intestinal helminth parasite Taenia crassiceps. (*Joint senior co-authors) Infect. and Immun. 2003; 71:1247-1254 .

Rodriguez-Sosa, M., Rosas, LE, Lu, B., Gerard, C., and Satoskar, AR.  Role of CC chemokine receptor 1 (CCR-1) in regulation of immune response following cutaneous L. major infection. Immunol and Cell Biol. 2003; 80:114-120.

Rodriguez-Sosa, M., Satoskar, AR, David, JR, and Terrazas, LI. Altered T helper responses in CD40 and IL-12 deficient mice reveal a critical role for Th1 responses in eliminating the helminth parasite Taenia crassiceps. Int. J. Parasitol. 2003;33: 701-711.

Rosas, L., Durbin, J., and Satoskar, AR. Development of protective immunity against cutaneous leishmaniasis is dependent on STAT1-mediated IFN-signaling pathway. Europ. J. Immunol. 2003;33: 1799-1805.

Contact

e-mail: satoskar.2@osu.edu
phone: 614-292-3243

376 Biological Sciences Building
484W. 12 Ave.
Columbus, Ohio
43210

Links

Satoskar Webpage
Satoskar Lab Webpage