David M. Markovitz, M.D.
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Division of Infectious Diseases

dmarkov@umich.edu

Our laboratory studies the interaction of retroviruses such as HIV with human cellular factors.  The goal of this work is to understand the mechanisms that regulate retroviral replication, and also to use these viruses as models for elucidating human cellular processes. Our work is thus relevant to understanding cancer and immunity, as well as viral pathogenesis.  The specific projects in the laboratory at this time examine the following issues: (1) development of new strategies to treat or prevent retrovirus-associated diseases, (2) the mechanism of action of the DEK protein, which has been linked to the pathogenesis of HIV-2, leukemia, several solid tumors, and autoimmune disease, (3) the role of vimentin in immunity, and (4) pathogenic effects of human endogenous retroviruses.

Representative Publications

Mor-Vaknin, N., Punturieri, A., Sitwala, K., and Markovitz, D.M. Vimentin is secreted by activated macrophages. Nature Cell Biology 5:59-63, 2003.

Mor-Vaknin, N., Punturieri, A., Sitwala, K., Faulkner, N., Legendre, M., Khodadoust, M.S., Kappes, F., Ruth, J.H., Koch, A., Glass, D., Petruzzelli, L., Adams , B.S., and Markovitz, D.M . The DEK nuclear autoantigen is a secreted chemotactic factor. Molecular and Cellular Biology 2006 26(24):9484-9496, 2006.

Kappes, F., Waldmann, T., Mathew, V., Yu, J., Zhang, L., Khodadoust, M.S., Chinnaiyan, A.M., Luger, K., Erhardt, S., Schneider, R., and Markovitz, D.M.  The DEK oncoprotein is a su(var) that is essential to heterochromatin integrity. Genes Dev. 2011; 25:673-678. PMCID: PMC3070930

Mor-Vaknin, N., Kappes, F., Dick, A.E., Legendre, M., Damoc, C., Teitz-Tennenbaum, S., Kwok, R., Ferrando-May, E., Adams, B.S., and Markovitz, D.M.  DEK in the synovium of JIA patients: characterization of DEK antibodies and posttranslational modification of the DEK autoantigen.  Arthritis Rheum. 2011; 63(2):556-567. PMCID: PMC3117121

Contreras-Galindo, R.A., Kaplan, M.H., Contreras-Galindo, A.C., Gonzalez-Hernandez, M., Ferlengui, I., Giusti, F., Lorenzo, E., Gitlin, S.D.,  Dosik, M.H., Yamamura, Y., and Markovitz, D.M. Characterization of human endogenous retroviral elements in the blood of HIV-1-infected individuals. J. Virol. 86(1):262-76, 2012. PMCID:PMC3255917

Gonzalez-Hernandez, M. J., Swanson, M. D., Contreras-Galindo, R., Cookinham, S., King, S. R., Noel, R. J. Jr., Kaplan, M. H., and Markovitz, D. M. Expression of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Type-K (HML-2) is activated by the Tat protein of HIV-1. J. Virol. (epub ahead of print May 16, 2012). PMC Journal – In Progress.

Khodadoust, M.S., Verhaegen, M., Kappes, F., Riveiro-Falkenbach, E., Cigudosa, J.C., Kim, D.S.L., Chinnaiyan, A.M., Markovitz, D.M.*, and Soengas, M.S*.  Melanoma proliferation and chemoresistance controlled by the DEK oncogene.  Cancer Res. 2009; 69(16):6405-6413.