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Joseph Edgar Craft MD

Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) and Professor of Immunobiology; Section Chief, Rheumatology; Program Director, Investigative Medicine; Paul B. Beeson Professor of Medicine

Research Interests

Arthritis; Autoimmunity; Cytokines; Diseases and Disorders; Lupus; T Cell Differentiation; T Cells; Tolerance

Current Projects

Ongoing studies are targeted towards identification of the developmental pathways of CD4 T cells that provide B cell help and that promote inflammation, and dissection of their potential to promote autoimmunity and inflammation.

Research Summary

We have a longstanding interest in dissecting the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmunity, focusing upon the activation and differentiation of CD4 T effector cell subsets in mice and in humans. Our lab has characterized CD4 T cells that help B cells in murine models of lupus and in conventional immune responses, with the idea that information gleaned from the latter studies could be applied to our understanding of autoimmunity. In recent work, we have begun to define the transcription factors critical for the development and function of CD4 T cells that help B cells, with ongoing studies aimed at further investigating these cells developmentally, and dissecting the mechanisms that lead to their effector function in autoimmunity and inflammation. Related work involves characterization of gamma delta and natural IL-17-producing CD4 T cells, including the recent description of the latter that develop thymically following selection by self-antigen and that migrate to the gut for presumed effector and/or regulatory function.

Selected Publications

  • Craft J. Follicular helper T cells in immunity and in systemic autoimmunity. Nature Rev Rheum 8:337-47, 2012. PMCID: PMC3604997
  • Marshall HD, Chandele A, Jung YW, Meng H, Poholek AC, Parish IA, Rutishauser R, Cui W, Kleinstein SH, Craft J, Kaech SM. Differential expression of Ly6C and T-bet distinguish effector and memory Th1 CD4(+) cell properties during viral infection. Immunity 35:633-646, 2011. PMCID: PMC3444169
  • Weinstein JS, Hernandez SG, Craft J. T cells that promote B cell maturation in systemic autoimmunity. Immunol Rev 247:160-71, 2012. PMCID: PMC2110203
  • Cui W, Yiu L, Weinstein J, Craft J, Kaech SM. An IL-21/IL-10/STAT3 pathway is critical for functional maturation of memory CD8+ T cells. Immunity 35:792-805, 2011. PMCID: PMC3431922
  • Craft J. Dissecting the immune cell mayhem that drives lupus pathogenesis. Science Transl. Med. 3, 73ps9 2011. Reprint at: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/rapidpdf/3/73/73ps9?ijkey=Ucmy6RX..HbFY&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed; full text at: http://stm.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/3/73/73ps9?ijkey=Ucmy6RX..HbFY&keytype=ref&siteid=scitransmed
  • Poholek AC, Hansen K, Hernandez S, Eto D, Chandele A, Weinstein J, Dong X, Odegard JM, Kaech SM, Dent AL, Crotty S, Craft J. In vivo regulation of Bcl6 and T follicular helper cell development. J Immunol 185:313-236, 2010. Epub 2010 Jun 2. PMCID: PMC2891136
  • DiPlacido L, Craft J. Emerging from the shadows: follicular helper T cells in autoimmunity. Arthritis Rheum 62:6–8, 2010. PMCID: PMC2806501
  • Quan TE, Roman RM, Rudenga BJ, Holers VM, Craft J. Epstein-barr virus promotes interferon-alpha production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Arthritis Rheum 2010 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMCID: PMC2885535
  • Johnston RJ*, Poholek AC*, Yusuf I, DiToro D, Eto D, Barnett B, Dent AL, Craft J, Crotty S. Bcl6 and Blimp-1 are reciprocal and antagonistic regulators of follicular helper (TFH) CD4 T cell differentiation. Science 325:1006-1010, 2009. (*co-first authors) PMCID: PMC2766560
  • Marks BR, Nowyhed H, Choi J-Y, Poholek AC, Odegard J, Flavell RA, Craft J. Thymic self-reactivity selects natural interleukin 17–producing T cells that can regulate peripheral inflammation. Nat Immunol 10:1125-1132, 2009. PMCID: PMC2751862

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