Laurence A. Turka, M.D.
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Department: Medicine
Contact information
111 Clinical Research Building
415 Curie Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
415 Curie Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: (215) 898-1018
Fax: (215) 573-2880
Fax: (215) 573-2880
Email:
turka@mail.med.upenn.edu
turka@mail.med.upenn.edu
Publications
Education:
B.A. (Biochemistry, Summa Cum Laude)
Colgate University, Hamilton, N.Y., 1978.
M.D.
Yale University, 1982.
M.A. (hon)
University of Pennsylvania, 1995.
Permanent linkB.A. (Biochemistry, Summa Cum Laude)
Colgate University, Hamilton, N.Y., 1978.
M.D.
Yale University, 1982.
M.A. (hon)
University of Pennsylvania, 1995.
Description of Research Expertise
Research InterestsT cell tolerance, Transplantation immunology.
Research Summary
Broadly speaking, our laboratory is interested in defining cellular and biochemical mechanisms of peripheral tolerance. A subset of the lab has a particular interest in mechanisms and application to the setting of transplantation tolerance. One focus of particular interest is the role of T cell costimulatory signals through CD28:B7 family interactions as well as those of the TNF:TNFR family. These studies utilize T cell receptor transgenic mice for in vivo models of immune responses, as well as skin, heart, islet, and bone-marrow transplantation models. Emphasis is placed on the use of flow cytometry to track antigen-reactive T cells in vivo, quantitative analyses of effector function such as cytokine production and survival, requirements for the development of memory vs. regulatory cells, and signal transduction in regulatory and tolerized T cells.
Selected Publications
Yuan, X., Ansari, M.J., D'Addio, F., Paez-Cortez, J., Schmitt-Knosalla, I., Donnarumma, M., Boenisch, O., Popoola, J., Clarkson, M.R., Yagita, H., Hisaya, A., Freeman, G.J., Iacomini, J., Turka, L.A., Glimcher, L.H., Sayegh, M.H.: Targeting TIM-1: To overcome resistance to transplantation tolerance mediated by CD8 T17 cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 106: 10734-10739, 2009.King, C.G., Buckler, J.L., Kobayashi, T., Hannah, J.R., Bassett, G., Kim, T., Pearce, E.L., Kim, G.G., Turka, L.A., Choi, Y.: Cutting Edge: Requirement for TRAF6 in the induction of T cell anergy. Journal of Immunology 180: 34-38, 2008.
LaRosa, D.F., Stumhofer, J.S., Gelman, A.E., Rahman, A.H., Taylor, D.K., Hunter, C.A., Turka, L.A.: T cell expression of myeloid differentiation protein 88 is required for resistance to Toxoplasma gondii. Proceedings from the National Academy of Science 105: 3855-3860, 2008.
Bloom, D.D., Chang, Z., Fechner, J.H., Dar, W., Polster, S.P., Pascual, J., Turka, L.A., Knecthle, S.J.: CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells increase de novo in kidney transplant patients after immunodepletion with Campath-1H. American Journal of Transplantation 8: 793-802, 2008.
Ueno, T., Habicht, A., Clarkson, M.R., Albin, M.J., Yamaura, K., Boenisch, O., Popoola, J., Wang, Y., Yagita, H., Akiba, H., Ansari, M.J., Yang, J., Turka, L.A., Rothstein, D.M., Padera, R.F., Najafian, N., Sayegh, M.H.: The emerging role of T cell immunoglobulin mucin 1 (Tim-1) in alloimmune responses in vivo. Journal of Clinical Investigation 118: 742-751, 2008.
Allenspach, A.J., Lemos, M.P., Porrett, P.M., Turka, L.A., Laufer, T.M.: Migratory and lymphoid-resident dendritic cells cooperate to efficiently prime naive CD4 T cells. Immunity 29: 795-806, 2008.
Porrett, P.M., Yuan, X., LaRosa, D.F., Walsh, P.T., Yang, J., Gao, W., Li, P., Zhang, J., Ansari, J.M., Hancock, W.W., Sayegh, M.H., Koulmanda, M., Strom, T.B., Turka, L.A.: Mechanisms underlying blockade of allograft acceptance by TLR ligands. Journal of Immunology 181: 1692-1699, 2008.
Rahman, A.H., Cui, W., LaRosa, D.F., Taylor, D.K., Zhang, J., Goldstein, D.R., Wherry, E.J., Kaech, S.M., Turka, L.A.: MyD88 plays a critical T cell-intrinsic role in supporting CD8 T cell expansion during acute LCMV infection. Journal of Immunology 181: 3804-3810, 2008.
Dzierszinski, F., Pepper, M., Stumhofer, J.S., LaRosa, D.F., Wilson, E.H., Turka, L.A., Halonen, S.K., Hunter, C.A., Roos, D.S.: Presentation of Toxoplasma gondii antigens via the endogenous major histocompatibility complex class I pathway in nonprofessional and professional antigen presenting cells. Infectious Immunology 75: 5200-5209, 2007.
LaRosa, D.F., Gelman, A.e., Rahman, A.H., Zhang, J., Turka, L.A., Walsh, P.T.: CpG DNA inhibits CD4+CD25+ Treg suppression through direct MyD88-dependent costimulation of effector CD4+ T cells. Immunology Letters 108: 183-188, 2007.