Ellen Kraig, Ph.D., Professor
Brandeis University
1981

(210) 567-3818
KRAIG@UTHSCSA.EDU

Dr. Kraig is primarily involved in teaching graduate courses and is Co-Director of the Molecular Section of the Graduate Core Course. Dr. Kraig received the UTHSCSA Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence in 1996, the Dean's Award for Exceptional Graduate Teaching in 2000, and was elected to the UT Academy of Health Science Educators in 2006.

Her laboratory uses molecular biological techniques to study various aspects of immune regulation and bacterial pathogenesis. First, periodontal disease affects a majority of adults in this country. The lab is interested in characterizing the interaction between the host and the bacterial strains implicated in this disease. They have focused on A. actinomycetemcomitans, a bacterial pathogen that has been implicated in Localized Aggressive Periodontitis and is also seen in some adult forms of the disease. They study both the regulation of virulence factors by this microorganism and the nature of the host T cell response to periodontal infection.

In addition the laboratory uses T cell hybridoma technology to characterize the antigens on other human pathogens, including Chlamydia trachomatis. This bacterium is a major cause of sexually transmitted disease in the US. This work may well form the basic science basis for future vaccine development.

In another project, the role of T lymphocytes in various autoimmune disorders, particularly myasthenia gravis, has been studied using transgenic mouse models. The lab is very excited by a novel transgenic mouse they recently generated; these mice express the T-AChR alpha chain at the neuromuscular junction and develop T cell tolerance to the T-AChR. With this new model, they can now address the mechanisms of tolerance and ask whether aging or environmental factors might affect tolerance and/or disease. These aging studies have led to a new protocol for enhancing immunity it the elderly; it is now being tested.

PUBLICATIONS:
Standifer, N.E., S.C. Stacy, E. Kraig, and A.J. Infante. (2007) Discrete T cell populations with specificity for a neo-self-antigen bear distinct imprints of tolerance. J Immunol. Mar 15;178(6):3544-50.

Stacy, S., A.J. Infante, K.A. Wall, K.A. Krolick, and E. Kraig. (2003) Recall immune memory: A new tool for generating late onset myasthenia gravis. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development 124:931-940.

Infante, A.J., J. Baillargeon, E. Kraig, L. Lott, C. Jackson, G.J. Hammerling, R. Raju, and C. David. (2003) Evidence of a diverse human T cell receptor repertoire for acetylcholine receptor, the autoantigen of myasthenia gravis. Journal of Autoimmunity 21:167-174.

Kolodrubetz, D., L. Phillips, C. Jacobs, A. Burgum, and E. Kraig. (2003) Anaerobic regulation of A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin transcription is ArcA/FnrA-independent and requires a novel promoter element. Research in Microbiology, 154:645-653.

Standifer, N.E., E. Kraig, A.J. Infante. (2003) A hierarchy of T cell receptor motifs determines responsiveness to the immunodominant epitope in experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis. J Neuroimmunol, 145:68-76.

Stacy, S., B. Gelb, B. Koop, J. Windle, K. Krolick, A.J. Infante, and E. Kraig. (2002) Split tolerance in a novel transgenic model of myasthenia gravis: relevance to human MG. Journal of Immunol. 169:6570-6579.

Stacy, S., K.A. Krolick, A.J. Infante, and E. Kraig. (2002) Immunological memory and late onset autoimmunity. Mech. Ageing and Develop. 123:975-985.