Department of Medicine / Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine

Phone: (205) 996-9598           email: chadsteele@uab.edu

Research/Clinical Interest Title: Immune responses to fungal pathogens of the lung

Research/Clinical Interest Description: Research in my laboratory investigates the innate and adaptive immune response to fungal pathogens of the lung, specifically Pneumocystis carinii and Aspergillus fumigatus. Research on P. carinii has uncovered a novel Src tyrosine kinase signaling pathway that regulates the magnitude of the lung inflammatory response as well as change the pattern of alveolar macrophage activation. This pattern of macrophage activation, termed M2a, is associated with more efficient elimination of P. carinii from the lungs, yet has not been described in P. carinii host defense. Research on A. fumigatus involves Dectin-1, a pattern recognition receptor that recognizes beta-glucan carbohydrates found in the cell wall of all medically-important fungi, and controls the production of multiple inflammatory cytokines, including IL-17. We have recently reported a role for IL-17 and IL-22 in A. fumigatus lung defense are currently focusing on the lung cell sources of these cytokines, which pathways drive the development of these cell populations and the downstream IL-17- and IL-22-associated mechanisms that promote elimination of A. fumigatus.