Juan Anguita

Juan Anguita

Associate Professor

Photo of Juan Anguita

Lab phone: 413-577-3316

Fax: 413-545-6326

Email: janguita [at] vasci [dot] umass [dot] edu

Mailing address:

661 N Pleasant St
Amherst, MA 01003

Anguita Laboratory

Ph.D.: University of Leon, Spain, 1993
Postdoctoral Training: Yale University School of Medicine

Immunology Journal Club Papers

Am I your advisor? Check first on SPIRE or contact mschneider [at] vasci [dot] umass [dot] edu (subject: Advising%20question) (Mary Schneider)

 

 

Proinflammatory signals in response to infection

Early phagocytosis of B. burgdorferi (green) by RAW cells. Red: actinProinflammatory signals in response to infection. Lyme disease is a highly prevalent infection in the United States. The disease is caused by the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted by tick vectors, Ixodes scapularis and I. pacificus. Without proper treatment, the disease can evolve into inflammatory complications that most commonly affect the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and nervous systems. Our lab is using the murine model of Lyme borreliosis to understand the role of signaling pathways such as NF-kB and MAP kinases in the development of proinflammatory responses in the context of infection. We are interested in the primary response to infectious agents triggered by their interaction with pattern recognition molecules, the effect of those interactions on the activation of iNKT and CD4 T cells, as well as the feedback mechanisms between both arms of the immune system. Part of our recent efforts are aimed at the understanding of the phagocytic uptake of the spirochete by macrophages.

Immunosuppression mediated by Salp15

Salp15 structure by SAXS, with the active site (P11) highlighted.Salp15 is a recently characterized antigen in tick saliva that has the capacity to inhibit the activation of naive CD4 T cells by repressing the calcium signals that arise upon TCR engagement. The final result is the inhibition of IL-2 production. Salp15 binds to the CD4 co-receptor on T cells and prevents early signals during activation. Our lab is currently analyzing the specificity of its function in murine as well as human T cells, and the potential application of this immunosuppressor in therapeutic intervention in several conditions that involve CD4 T cells.

Current members of the lab

Previous members of the lab

Hawley KL, Olson CM, Iglesias-Pedraz JM, Navasa N, Cervantes JL, Caimano MJ, Izadi H, Ingalls RR, Pal U, Salazar JC et al..  2012.  CD14 cooperates with complement receptor 3 to mediate MyD88-independent phagocytosis of Borrelia burgdorferi.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109(4):1228-32.
Keerthivasan S, Suleiman R, Lawlor R, Roderick J, Bates T, Minter L, Anguita J, Juncadella I, Nickoloff BJ, Le Poole IC et al..  2011.  Notch signaling regulates mouse and human Th17 differentiation.. J Immunol. 187(2):692-701.
Li Y, Sosnik J, Brassard L, Reese M, Spiridonov NA, Bates TC, Johnson GR, Anguita J, Visconti PE, Salicioni AM.  2011.  Expression and localization of five members of the testis-specific serine kinase (Tssk) family in mouse and human sperm and testis. Molec Hum Reprod. 17(1):42-56.
Whitlow TH, Hall A, Zhang MK, Anguita J.  2011.  Impact of local traffic exclusion on near-road air quality: findings from the New York City "Summer Streets" campaign.. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 159(8-9):2016-27.
Adusumilli S, Booth CJ, Anguita J, Fikrig E.  2010.  Passage through Ixodes scapularis ticks enhances the virulence of a weakly pathogenic isolate of Borrelia burgdorferi.. Infection and immunity. 78(1):138-44.
Yang X, Lenhart TR, Kariu T, Anguita J, Akins DR, Pal U.  2010.  Characterization of unique regions of Borrelia burgdorferi surface-located membrane protein 1.. Infection and immunity. 78(11):4477-87.
Juncadella IJ, Bates TC, Suleiman R, Monteagudo-Mera A, Olson CM, Navasa N, Olivera ER, Osborne BA, Anguita J.  2010.  The tick saliva immunosuppressor, Salp15, contributes to Th17-induced pathology during Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 402(1):105-9.
Calvo-Pinilla E, Rodríguez-Calvo T, Anguita J, Sevilla N, Ortego J.  2009.  Establishment of a bluetongue virus infection model in mice that are deficient in the alpha/beta interferon receptor.. PloS one. 4(4):e5171.
Yang X, Coleman AS, Anguita J, Pal U.  2009.  A chromosomally encoded virulence factor protects the Lyme disease pathogen against host-adaptive immunity.. PLoS pathogens. 5(3):e1000326.
Juncadella IJ, Anguita J.  2009.  The immunosuppresive tick salivary protein, Salp15.. Advances in experimental medicine and biology. 666:121-31.
Wang A, Rud J, Olson CM, Anguita J, Osborne BA.  2009.  Phosphorylation of Nur77 by the MEK-ERK-RSK cascade induces mitochondrial translocation and apoptosis in T cells.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 183(5):3268-77.
Olson CM, Bates TC, Izadi H, Radolf JD, Huber SA, Boyson JE, Anguita J.  2009.  Local production of IFN-gamma by invariant NKT cells modulates acute Lyme carditis.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 182(6):3728-34.
Dai J, Wang P, Adusumilli S, Booth CJ, Narasimhan S, Anguita J, Fikrig E.  2009.  Antibodies against a tick protein, Salp15, protect mice from the Lyme disease agent.. Cell host & microbe. 6(5):482-92.
Yang X, Izadi H, Coleman AS, Wang P, Ma Y, Fikrig E, Anguita J, Pal U.  2008.  Borrelia burgdorferi lipoprotein BmpA activates pro-inflammatory responses in human synovial cells through a protein moiety.. Microbes and infection / Institut Pasteur. 10(12-13):1300-8.
Juncadella IJ, Garg R, Bates TC, Olivera ER, Anguita J.  2008.  The Ixodes scapularis salivary protein, salp15, prevents the association of HIV-1 gp120 and CD4.. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 367(1):41-6.
Juncadella IJ, Garg R, Boone CD, Anguita J, Krueger JK.  2008.  Conformational rearrangement within the soluble domains of the CD4 receptor is ligand-specific.. The Journal of biological chemistry. 283(5):2761-72.
Reott MA, Ritchie-Miller SL, Anguita J, Hudson MC.  2008.  TRAIL expression is induced in both osteoblasts containing intracellular Staphylococcus aureus and uninfected osteoblasts in infected cultures.. FEMS microbiology letters. 278(2):185-92.
Nagaleekar VK, Diehl SA, Juncadella I, Charland C, Muthusamy N, Eaton S, Haynes L, Garrett-Sinha LA, Anguita J, Rincón M.  2008.  IP3 receptor-mediated Ca2+ release in naive CD4 T cells dictates their cytokine program.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 181(12):8315-22.
Izadi H, Motameni AT, Bates TC, Olivera ER, Villar-Suarez V, Joshi I, Garg R, Osborne BA, Davis RJ, Rincón M et al..  2007.  c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 is required for Toll-like receptor 1 gene expression in macrophages.. Infection and immunity. 75(10):5027-34.
Paveglio SA, Allard J, Mayette J, Whittaker LA, Juncadella I, Anguita J, Poynter ME.  2007.  The tick salivary protein, Salp15, inhibits the development of experimental asthma.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 178(11):7064-71.
Juncadella IJ, Garg R, Ananthnarayanan SK, Yengo CM, Anguita J.  2007.  T-cell signaling pathways inhibited by the tick saliva immunosuppressor, Salp15.. FEMS immunology and medical microbiology. 49(3):433-8.
Olson CM, Hedrick MN, Izadi H, Bates TC, Olivera ER, Anguita J.  2007.  p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase controls NF-kappaB transcriptional activation andtumor necrosis factor alpha production through RelA phosphorylation mediated by mitogenand stress-activated protein kinase 1 in responseto Borrelia burgdorferi antigens.. Infection and immunity. 75(1):270-7.
Garg R, Juncadella IJ, Ramamoorthi N, Ramamoorthi N, Ananthanarayanan SK, Thomas V, Rincón M, Krueger JK, Fikrig E, Yengo CM et al..  2006.  Cutting edge: CD4 is the receptor for the tick saliva immunosuppressor, Salp15.. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 177(10):6579-83.