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Sheila Lukehart

Assistant Dean, Medicine
Professor, Medicine
Professor, Global Health
Adjunct Professor, Microbiology
Adjunct Professor, Oral Biology

Contact Information
Harborview Medical Center
Box 359779
Harborview Medical Center
325 Ninth Ave
Box 359779
Seattle, WA 
Tel: 206–897–5362
lukehart@u.washington.edu

Education

PhD   University of California Los Angeles, 1978
Microbiology
BA   University of California (San Diego), 1973
Biology

Research Interests
The Lukehart laboratory focuses on the pathogenesis of syphilis and the immune response to Treponema pallidum in humans and in animal models. The current major interest is the newly-identified polymorphic tpr gene family of T. pallidum, which comprises 2% of the T. pallidum genome and is hypothesized to encode surface-exposed antigens that are major targets of the protective immune response, may be involved in immune evasion, and are promising vaccine candidates. One member of the Tpr family, TprK, has been demonstrated by us to undergo antigenic variation; studies related to the immunological relevance of this variation are ongoing. Our work to date has indicated that the protective immune response to Treponema pallidum is mediated by Th1-type CD4+ lymphocytes and infiltrating macrophages. Ongoing projects in the laboratory include the cloning and characterization of major T cell antigens of T. pallidum and investigation of cytokine induction by these antigens. The laboratory is also working to identify the surface molecules that are targets of opsonization and to define the kinetics of and requirements for bactericidal activity by macrophages. Many of the projects described above involve collaborations with Drs. Arturo Centurion-Lara and Wesley VanVoorhis. Lastly, invasion of the central nervous system by T. pallidum occurs in the early weeks of infection. With Dr. Christina Marra (Neurology), the laboratory is exploring the molecular basis for neuroinvasion, the immunologic response to T. pallidum within the CNS, and the efficacy of recommended therapy for CNS syphilis in immunocompetent and HIV-infected patients.
syphilis pathogenesis, antigenic variation, vaccine development

In The News
Genetic Study Bolsters Columbus Link to Syphilis (The New York Times, 01/15/2008)