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Biochemistry,
Immunopathogenesis, & Molecular Biology of Parasitic Diseases
My laboratory has three major interests. The first two focus on defining
the biology of the host-parasite relationship for global parasitic infections
like schistosomiasis and trypanosomiasis. We are studying mechanisms by
which parasites invade host tissue, metabolize host proteins like hemoglobin,
and regulate the expression of virulence factors during different stages
of their life cycle. A tangent of this research is the development of
specific inhibitors targeting proteases necessary for parasitic invasion
and metabolism. We are also defining the host immune response to schistosome
parasites that results in granuloma formation and fibrosis. One particularly
intriguing discovery has been that schistosomes exploit the immune response
as a signal for growth and egg production. Our third area of interest
is the role of proteases in tumor progression. We are evaluating the expression
of proteases in both mouse models of tumor development and in actual human
tumor specimens. We then map structure-function relationships in tumor
proteases with the goal of designing specific inhibitors as tools to probe
the role of proteases in tumor progression, and as leads for future chemotherapy.
Selected Publications:
Britton C, McKerrow JH, and Johnstone IL. Regulation of the Caenorhabditis
elegans gut cysteine protease gene cpr-1: Requirement for GATA motifs.
J Mol Biol. 283: 15-27, 1998.
Huete-Perez JA, Engel JC, Mottram JC, and McKerrow JH. Intracellular protease
trafficking in kinetoplastids is mediated by the prodomain. J Biol Chem.
274:16249-16256, 1999.
Davies, SJ, Grogan J, Blank R, Lim KC, Lockley R, and McKerrow JH. Modulation
of bloodfluke development in the liver by unconventional CD4+ hepatic
CD4 lymphocytes. Science. 294:1358-1361, 2001.
Contact Information:
Email: jmck@cgl.ucsf.edu
Phone: (415) 476-2940
Address: Box 0511, Room HSW 511
The University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, (415) 476-9000
Copyright 2003, The Regents of the University of California.
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