Jeffrey Curtis, M.D.
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine,
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Section
Program Director, Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) Center in Pulmonary Immunology, Department of Veterans Affairs
jlcurtis@umich.edu

My laboratory has a long term interest in the regulation of pulmonary immunity, especially through control of lung lymphocyte numbers and function. Active projects include: the adhesion molecules responsible for lung leukocyte recruitment in murine models of lung inflammation, auto-immunity & infection; the molecular mechanisms by which macrophages ingest apoptotic lymphocytes; alveolar macrophage signal transduction pathways; and analysis human lung tissue to define the immunopathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Representative Publications

Milik AM, Beuchner-Maxwell VA, Sonstein J, Kim S, Seitzman GD, Beals TF, Curtis JL. Apoptosis contributes to lung lymphocyte elimination in the murine response to intratracheal particulate antigen. J Clin Invest 1997; 99:1082-1091.

Todt JC, Hu B, Curtis JL. The receptor tyrosine kinase MerTK (Tyro12) activates phospho-lipase C gamma 2 during recognition of apoptotic thymocytes by resident murine macrophages. J Leukoc Biol 75:705-713, 2004.

Punturieri A, Alviani RS, Polak T, Cooper P, Sonstein J, Curtis JL. Specific engagement of TLR4 or TLR3 does not lead to IFN-beta-mediated innate signal amplification and STAT1 phosphorylation in resident murine alveolar macrophages. J Immunol 173: 1033-1043, 2004.

Osterholzer JJ, Sonstein J, Todt JC, Allen T, Moore BB, Chensue SW, Toews GB, Curtis JL. CCR2 and CCR6, but not endothelial selectins, mediate the accumulation of immature dendritic cells within the lungs in response to particulate antigen. J Immunol 175: 874-883, 2005.

Curtis JL. Cell-mediated adaptive immune defense of the lungs. Proc Am Thorac Soc 2: 412-416, 2005.

Curtis, JL. Interleukin 4. In: Mark Knowles ed. Encyclopedia of Respiratory Medicine; first edition 2005; Elsevier Limited: Oxford, UK p 354-359.

Punturieri A, Copper P, Polak T, Christensen PJ, Curtis JL. Conserved non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae-derived TLR2-binding lipopeptides synergize with IFN-β to increase cytokine production by resident murine and human alveolar macrophages. J Immunol 177:673-680, 2006.

Rivera R, Hutchens, M, Luker KE, Sonstein S, Curtis JL, Luker GD. Alveolar macrophages limit replication of vaccinia virus. J Virol 2007 Jun 20;363(1):48-58.

Curtis JL, Freeman CM, Hogg JC. The immunopathogenesis of COPD: insights from recent research. Proc Am Thorac Soc. 2007 Oct;4(7):512-21.