Herve Francois Agaisse MSc, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis
Research Interests
Host/pathogen interaction, microorganisms; infection; cell-to-cell spread; Listeria; Shigella; Chlamydia; Rickettsia; Vaccinia; Drosophila melanogaster; immune response; stem cells; JAK/STAT signaling; aging
Research Summary
Intracellular pathogens, such as Listeria, Shigella, Rickettsia, and Vaccinia virus, display actin-based motility and spread from cell to cell through the
formation of plasma membrane protrusions. Although several virulence factors involved in actin-based motility have been identified, their interaction with the host cell machinery is still poorly understood. We have developed systematic
approaches to determine the host cell factors required for intracellular pathogen spread in human cells. The approach may not only lead to the identification of mechanisms underlying microbial pathogenesis, but may also uncover the native
function of the identified host factors. An additional focus of the lab is to determine the role of cytokine signaling in the maintenance of epithelium integrity
and the control of the rate of stem cell division in response to bacterial infection. The approach may lead to the identification of evolutionary conserved signaling mechanisms linking environmental challenges and stem cell division.
Selected Publications
- Chong R, Swiss R, Briones G, Stone KL, Gulcicek EE and Agaisse H. Regulatory mimicry in Listeria monocytogenes actin-based motility. Cell Host & Microbe. 2009. In Press.
- Krishnan M, Ng A, Sukumaran B, Gilfoy, FD, Uchil P, Sultana A, Brass A, Adametz R, Tsui M, Qian F, Montgomery R, Lev S, Mason PW, Koski RA, Elledge SJ, Xavier RJ, Agaisse H and Fikrig E. RNA interference screen for human genes associated with West Nile Virus infection. Nature. 2008. 11;455(7210):242-5.
- Derre I, Pypaert M, Dautry-Varsat A, Agaisse H. RNAi Screen in Drosophila Cells Reveals the Involvement of the Tom Complex in Chlamydia Infection. PLoS Pathog. 2007. 3(10):1446-58.
- Agaisse, H., Burrack, L., Philips, J., Perrimon N. and Darren Higgins D. (2005). Genome-wide RNAi screen for host factors required for intracellular bacterial infection. Science 309(5738):1248-51.
- Agaisse, H., Petersen, U-M., Boutros, M., Mathey-Prevot, B. and Perrimon, N. (2003). Signaling role of hemocytes in Drosophila JAK/STAT-dependent response to septic injury. Dev. Cell 5(3):441-450.
- Boutros, M., Agaisse H., and Perrimon N. (2002). Sequential activation of signaling pathways during innate immune responses in Drosophila. Dev. Cell 3(5):711-22.
