Immunology Graduate Group

Stephen G. Emerson, M.D., Ph.D.
Francis C. Wood Professor
Medicine, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics

Address: BRB 714
Office Phone: (215) 573-3002
Lab Phone: (215) 898-0245
Fax: (215) 349-5866
Email: emersons@mail.med.upenn.edu

Education:
M.D., Yale University
Ph.D., Yale University
M.A., University of Pennsylvania
M.Sc., Yale University
B.A., Haverford College

Research Interests

Stem Cell Biology and Transplantation Immunology

Research Summary

The first goal of his laboratory is to understand the regulation of human hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and to apply this knowledge to the development of novel cellular and molecular therapeutics utilizing bone marrow stem cells. In this model, cells themselves are developed as the therapeutic agents rather than as small molecular weight pharmaceuticals. Most recently, the laboratory has identified two transcription factors, NF-Y and USF-2 that regulate the transcription of the key stem cell regulatory homeobox gene HOXB4. In addition, his laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of graft-versus host disease. They have identified host dendritic cells and macrophages as the key cellular triggers of donor T cell activation, thereby identifying a new cellular target for the prevention of GVHD in stem cell transplantation for cancer. Most recently, they have identified a population of post-BMT CD8 T cells which kills allogeneic tumor cells but does not cause graft-versus-host reactions.

Expansion of adult human bone marrow in NOD/SCID mice 24 days following transplant

Recent Publications

Shlomchik, W., Couzens,M.S., Tang, C.B., McNiff, J., Robert, M.E., Liu, J., Shlomchik, M.J., Emerson, S.G. Prevention of Graft Versus Host Disease by Inactivation of Host Antigen-Presenting Cells. Science 285:412-415, 1999.

Giannola, D., M. Jeganthesan, W. D. Shlomchik, D.N. Liebowitz, T. Kadesch, A. Dancis, S. G. Emerson. Hematopoietic expression of HOXB4 is regulated in normal and leukemic stem cells through transcriptional activation of the HOXB4 promoter by USF-1 and USF-2. J. Exp. Med 192:1479-1490, 2000.

Taichman, R.S., Ehrenman, K., Reilly J. M., Verma, R.S., Emerson, S.G. Hepatocyte Growth Factor is secreted by osteoblasts and constitutively supports hematopoiesis. Br. J Haematol 112:438-48;2001.

Zhang, Y., Louboutin, J-P, Zhu, J., Rivera, A., Emerson, S.G. Early Activation of Host Dendritic Cells and Priming of Allogeneic T Cells following Transplantation. J Clin Invest, 109:1335-1344;2002.

Zhang, Y., Warren D Shlomchik, Gerard Joe, Jean-Pierre Louboutin, Jiang Zhu, Adam J Rivera, and Stephen G Emerson, APCs in the liver and spleen recruit activated allogeneic CD8(+) T cells to elicit hepatic graft-versus-host disease. J Immunol. 169:7111-8; 2002.

Zhu, J., Gianolla, D., Zhang, Y., Rivera, A., Emerson, S.G. NF-Ya,b,c Interacts with USF1/2 to Activate the HOXB4 Promoter in Human Hematopoietic Cells and Repress Granulopoiesis. Blood, In Press, 2003.

 

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