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Mark D. Wewers, MD
Professor |
201 Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute
473 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: (614) 247-7707
wewers.2@osu.edu
Schedule a Pulmonary Appointment
Clinical Interests
Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency
Emphysema
Septic shock
Research Interests
Innate immunity
Macrophage biology
Septic responses
NetWellness
Dr. Wewers is a NetWellness expert in pulmonary fibrosis and lung and respiratory diseases. NetWellness is an unbiased, non-profit consumer health information service delivered on the Web through the collaborative efforts of the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University. Since 1995, NetWellness’ mission has been to provide the highest quality health information and education to meet the growing trend of the public to use the Internet for medical and health information. Health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, dentists, genetic counselors, optometrists, psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, speech and hearing therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and social workers answer consumer questions and provide current health information.
Mark D. Wewers, M.D. is Associate Director of the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and holds the John A. Prior Professorship in the College of Medicine where he is a member of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine.
Mark has appointments in the Departments of Internal Medicine, of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics and in the Interdisciplinary Program in Biophysics. He is also a member of the Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program. He joined the Ohio State faculty in 1986 after research training in the Pulmonary Branch at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Mark currently is the recipient of NIH funding from the NHLBI and is director of an NIH training grant to study the Molecular Mechanisms of Lung Inflammation. He has served as permanent member of the NIH Lung Biology Pathology A Study Section and is a frequent reviewer for the NIH.
Macrophage function in lung inflammatory conditions has been the central focus of Dr. Wewers’ investigations. The laboratory has focused on innate immune mechanisms with interest in the regulation of cytokines, especially interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), TNF? and IL-8. Most recently work is centered on the regulation of caspase-1 by newly described members of the caspase-recruitment domain (CARD) family of innate immune signaling molecules. Currently, the discovery of a signaling complex termed “the inflammasome” has prompted studies to understand the formation, composition and fate of the inflammasome’s components. This work has been extended to the study of sepsis and septic shock in both humans and in murine models with emphasis upon the monocyte and macrophage. Ongoing projects include measurement of a constellation of about 50 inflammation related genes by real time PCR technology, proteins quantifications by ELISA, and protein complex detection by immunoprecipitation reactions and yeast two-hybrid technology. In addition, the laboratory is interested in the interaction of macrophages with intracellular pathogens. Recently, inflammasome and caspase-1 studies have focused on the marked ability of the intracellular pathogen, Francisella tularensis to induce caspase-1 activation.
Selected Publications
- Fahy, R. J., M. C. Exline, M. A. Gavrilin, N. Y. Bhatt, B. Y. Besecker, A. Sarkar, J. L. Hollyfield, M. D. Duncan, H. N. Nagaraja, N. L. Knatz, M. Hall, and M. D. Wewers. 2008. Inflammasome mRNA Expression in Human Monocytes During Early Septic Shock. Am J Respir.Crit Care Med 177:983-988.
- Hall, M. W., M. A. Gavrilin, N. L. Knatz, M. D. Duncan, S. A. Fernandez, and M. D. Wewers. 2007. Monocyte mRNA Phenotype and Adverse Outcomes From Pediatric Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome. Pediatr.Res 62:597-603.
- Seshadri, S., M. D. Duncan, J. M. Hart, M. A. Gavrilin, and M. D. Wewers. 2007. Pyrin levels in human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages regulate IL-1? processing and release. The Journal of Immunology 179:1274-1281.
- Sarkar, A., M. W. Hall, M. Exline, J. Hart, N. Knatz, N. Gatson, and M. D. Wewers. 2006. Caspase-1 regulates E. coli sepsis and splenic B cell apoptosis independently of IL-1? and IL-18. Am.J Respir.Crit.Care Med. 174:1003-1010.
- Sarkar, A., M. Duncan, J. Hart, E. Hertlein, D. C. Guttridge, and M. D. Wewers. 2006. ASC directs NF-?B activation by regulating receptor interacting protein-2 (RIP2) caspase-1 interactions. J Immunol 176:4979-4986.
- Wewers, M. D. 2004. IL-1beta: an endosomal exit. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci U.S.A 101:10241-10242.
- Fahy, R. J. and M. D. Wewers. 2005. Pulmonary Defense and the Human Cathelicidin hCAP-18/LL-37. Immunol Res 31:75-90.
- Wewers, M. D. 2004. Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency: more than a protease imbalance? Chest 125:1607-1609.
- Elssner, A., M. Duncan, M. Gavrilin, and M. D. Wewers. 2004. A novel P2X7 receptor activator, the human cathelicidin-derived peptide LL37, induces IL-1 beta processing and release. J Immunol 172:4987-4994.
Laboratory Personnel
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Mikhail Gavrilin, PhD |
Research Scientist |
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Anasuya Sarkar, PhD |
Postdoctoral Researcher |
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Srabani Mitra |
Laboratory Manager |
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Agnes Awomoyi, PhD |
Postdoctoral Fellow |
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Yashaswini Kannan |
Graduate Student, Biophysics |
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Freweome Berhe |
Laboratory Technician |
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Matthew Exline, MD |
Assistant Professor of Medicine |
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Jennifer Hollyfield |
Laboratory Technician |
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