Mark Jay Shlomchik PhD, MD

Professor of Laboratory Medicine and of Immunobiology; Associate Director, Transfusion Service

Research Interests

Autoimmunity; Blood or Blood Products or Transfusions; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Immunobiology; Immunology; Immunopathology; Immunotherapy; Lymphocytes; Transgenic Animals

Research Summary

Our lab is interested in B cell development and immunopathogenesis. One set of projects focuses on autoimmunity: how do autoreactive B cells arise and what are the role(s) that these cells play in mediating autoimmune disease? We are using transgenic and knockout mouse models to answer these questions. We have made intriguing discoveries on the roles of Toll-like receptors in systemic autoimmunity and are following up on these. A second project addresses B cell activation and memory. We have made recent insights, including via in vivo multiphoton microscopy, into the mechanisms of cellular selection and differentiation in the germinal center, a site of rapid proliferation, mutation, and differentiation into memory cells. We have identified novel memory-specific genes and are studying their roles using KO mice and in vitro signaling assays. Finally, we are investigating why memory T cells fail to cause graft-vs-host disease using a new TCR Tg model.

Selected Publications

  • Teichmann, L.L., M.L. Harris, M. Kashgarian, B Reizis, D.H. Kaplan, M.J. Shlomchik. 2010. Dendritic Cells in Lupus are not Required for Activation of T and B Cells but Promote their Expansion Resulting in Tissue Damage. Immunity, 33:967-78.
  • Good-Jacobson, K. L. and M. J. Shlomchik. 2010. Plasticity and heterogeneity in the generation of memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells: the influence of germinal center interactions and dynamics. J. Immunol. 185: 3117-3125.
  • Tomayko, M.M., N.C. Steinel, S.M. Anderson, M.J. Shlomchik. 2010. Cutting Edge: Hierarchy of Maturity of Murine Memory B Cell Subsets. J. Immunol., 185:7146-50.
  • Good-Jacobson, K.L., C.G. Szumilas, L. Chen, A.H. Sharpe, M.M. Tomayko, and M.J. Shlomchik. 2010. PD-1 regulates germinal center B cell survival and the formation and affinity of long-lived plasma cells. Nature Immunol. 11:535-542.
  • Nickerson, K.M., S.R. Christensen, J.Shupe, M. Kashgarian, D. Kim, K. Elkon, M.J. Shlomchik. 2010. TLR9 regulates TLR7-and MyD88-dependent autoantibody production and disease in a murine model of Lupus. J. Immunol. 184: 1840-1848.
  • M. J. Shlomchik. 2008. Sites and stages of autoreactive B cell activation and regulation. Immunity, 28:18-28.
  • Herlands, R. A., S. R. Christensen, R. A. Sweet, and M. J. Shlomchik. 2008. T-cell-Independent and Toll-like receptor-dependent ntigen-driven activation of autoreactive B cells. Immunity, 29:249-260.
  • Ahuja, A., J. Shupe, R. Dunn, M. Kashgarian, M. R. Kehry, and M. J. Shlomchik. 2007. Depletion of B cells in murine Lupus: Efficacy of and Resistance. J. Immunol., 179: 3351-3361.
  • Anderson, S.M., Hannum, L.G., and Shlomchik, M.J. (2006). Memory B cell survival and function in the absence of secreted antibody and immune complexes on follicular dendritic cells. J. Immunol. 176:4515-4519.
  • Christensen, S.R., Shupe, J., Nickerson, K., Kashgarian, M., Flavell, R.A., and Shlomchik, M.J. (2006). Toll-like receptor 7 and TLR9 dictate autoantibody specificity and have opposing inflammatory and regulatory roles in a murine model of lupus. Immunity 25:417-428.

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