Larry Schlesinger

OSU Department of Microbiology

Larry S. Schlesinger

Larry Schlesinger

larry.schlesinger@osumc.edu

Saslaw Professor of Medicine

B.A., Cornell University, 1978

M.D., Rutgers Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, 1982

Post-doc, UCLA, 1986-1991

Director, Center for Microbial Interface Biology (CMIB)

Innate immunity in mycobacterial infections.

M. tuberculosis and non- tuberculous mycobacteria are highly prevalent human pathogens worldwide which cause significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in AIDS patients. They are intracellular pathogens of mononuclear phagocytes. Dr. Schlesinger’s research focuses on innate immunity in mycobacterial infections by studying human mononuclear phagocyte interactions with pathogenic mycobacteria , particularly M. tuberculosis . The laboratory uses a variety of approaches (cell biology, immunology, molecular biology and biochemistry) to study the role of mycobacterial surface glycoconjugates in complement activation and in binding to phagocyte receptors. It also focuses on the mechanism of phagocytosis of mycobacteria by macrophages, the intracellular trafficking pathway of mycobacterial products and the ability of intracellular mycobacteria to regulate the biosynthesis and expression of macrophage class II molecules, accessory molecules for antigen presentation and molecules involved in cellular adhesion. The laboratory utilizes novel in-vitro models that include surfactant components to study innate immune responses to these pathogens in the air spaces of the lung. The lab also studies the iron-dependent metabolic pathways in mycobacteria by using trivalent metals to inhibit these pathways. Newly characterized clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis and mutant strains of bacteria are utilized for these studies. Finally, the lab is interested in pathogenesis of the category A biodefense agent, Francisella tularensis . This work involves examining receptor-mediated interactions between the bacteria and human macrophages.

Olakanmi O, Schlesinger LS, Ahmed A, Britigan BE. The nature of extracellular iron influences iron acquisition by Mycobacterium tuberculosis residing within human macrophages. Infect. Immun. 72:2022-2028, 2004.

Ferguson JS, Weis JJ, Martin JL, Schlesinger LS. Complement protein C3 binding to Mycobacterium tuberculosis is initiated by the classical pathway in human bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Infect. Immun. 72:2564-2573, 2004.

Crowther JE, Kutala VK, Kuppusamy P, Ferguson JS, Beharka AA, Zweier JL, McCormack FX, Schlesinger LS. Pulmonary Surfactant Protein A inhibits macrophage reactive intermediate production in response to stimuli by reducing NADPH oxidase activity. J. Immunol. 172:6866-6874, 2004.

Beharka AA, Crowther JE, McCormack FX, Denning G, Lees J, Tibesar E, Schlesinger LS. Pulmonary Surfactant Protein A activates a PI3 Kinase / calcium signal transduction pathway in human macrophages: participation in the up-regulation of mannose receptor activity. J. Immunol. 175: 2227-2236, 2005

Kang PB, Azad AK, Torrelles JB, Kaufman TM, Beharka A, Tibesar E, Schlesinger LS. The human macrophage mannose receptor directs Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan-mediated phagosome biogenesis J Exp. Med. 202:987-999, 2005.

McCarthy TR, Torrelles JB, MacFarlane A, Katawczik M, Kutzbach B, Clegg S, DesJardin LE, Goldberg JB, Schlesinger LS. Mycobacterium tuberculosis manB, a phosphomannomutase that increases phosphatidylinositol mannoside biosynthesis in M. smegmatis and mycobacterial association with Human Macrophages. Mol. Micro. 58:774-790, 2005.

Crowther JE and Schlesinger LS. Defining the phagocytic pathway for Surfactant Protein A in human macrophages: binding, clathrin-dependent Uptake, and trafficking through the endolysosomal pathway. Am J Physiol. 290:L334-L342, 2006.

Department of Microbiology; The Ohio State University; 376 Bioscience Building; 484 West 12th Ave.; Columbus, Ohio USA; 43210-1292; Phone: 614-292-2301; Fax: 614-292-8120

Riffe Research Center

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Department of Microbiology
The Ohio State University
376 Biological Sciences Building
484 West 12th Ave.
Columbus, Ohio USA 43210-1292
Phone: 614-292-2301
Fax: 614-292-8120

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