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Charles T. Spencer Ph.D.
Affiliation:
University of Texas at El Paso
Biological Sciences
"Infectious and Immunological Diseases","Neurological Disorders and
Mental Health","Obesity and Metabolic Syndromes","Women's Health and
Reproductive Biology"
Title: Dr.
Rank: Assistant Professor
Address:
500 W University Ave Bioscience Research Building 5.148
El Paso, TX 79968
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 915 747-8776
Narrative
NKT cells are a subset of white blood cells that regulate immune response to bacterial, viral and
parasitic infections. They also prevent unwanted immune responses that cause autoimmune diseases
such as type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Therefore, the objective of the experiments described
here is to gain insight into the mechanism(s) by which NKT cells regulate immune responses to
infections such as Francisella spp. including Francisella tularensis, F. holarctica, and F. novicida, a
relative of F. tularensis which causes tularemic-like disease in mice, Mycobacterium tublerculosis the
eitiological agent of tuberculosis, and Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), a common intestinal pathogen
that causes food poisoning.
All of these bacteria survive in cells of the immune system and are thereby protected from much of
the immune response. In order to eliminate this infection, small molecules of the immune system
called cytokines must be released into the system to activate the cells where these bacteria survive.
NKT cells are capable of releasing numerous cytokines as well as causing or preventing the release of
cytokines from other cells. Over-production of cytokines is detrimential to the host so fine control
over cytokines is necessary for health. NKT cells appear to be central to this level of control.
Awards and Honors
2012
AAI - Travel Award for presentation at Immunology 2012
2013
ASCB Minority Affairs Committee - Professional Development Symposium
2015 2016 ASCB - Faculty Research and Educational Development program
2015
AAI - Travel Award for presentation at Immunology 2015
2016
ASCB - Faculty Research and Educational Development Travel award
2016
AAI - Travel Award for presentation at Immunology 2016
Original Articles
1. Nune KC, Somani MC, Spencer CT & Misra RDK. Materials Technology. Cellular response of
Staphylococcus aureus to nanostructured metallic biomedical devices: surface binding and
mechanism of disruption of colonization. 2016; 1-10.
Publications
1.
Duarte TT, Spencer CT. Personalized Proteomics: The Future of Precision Medicine. PubMed
Proteomes. 2016; 4(4).
2.
Xia M, Hesser DC, De P, Sakala IG, Spencer CT, Kirkwood JS, Abate G, Chatterjee D, PubMed
Dobos KM, Hoft DF. A Subset of Protective ?9d2 T Cells Is Activated by Novel
Mycobacterial Glycolipid Components. Infect Immun. 2016 Sep; 84(9):2449-62.
3.
Abate G, Spencer CT, Hamzabegovic F, Blazevic A, Xia M, Hoft DF. Mycobacterium- PubMed
Specific ?9d2 T Cells Mediate Both Pathogen-Inhibitory and CD40 Ligand-Dependent
Antigen Presentation Effects Important for Tuberculosis Immunity. Infect Immun.
2015 Dec 07; 84(2):580-9.
4.
Spencer CT, Bezbradica JS, Ramos MG, Arico CD, Conant SB, Gilchuk P, Gray JJ, PubMed
Zheng M, Niu X, Hildebrand W, Link AJ, Joyce S. Viral infection causes a shift in the
self peptide repertoire presented by human MHC class I molecules. Proteomics Clin
Appl. 2015 Dec; 9(11-12):1035-52.
5.
Gilchuk P, Spencer CT, Conant SB, Hill T, Gray JJ, Niu X, Zheng M, Erickson JJ, Boyd PubMed
KL, McAfee KJ, Oseroff C, Hadrup SR, Bennink JR, Hildebrand W, Edwards KM, Crowe
JE, Williams JV, Buus S, Sette A, Schumacher TN, Link AJ, Joyce S. Discovering
naturally processed antigenic determinants that confer protective T cell immunity. J
Clin Invest. 2013 May; 123(5):1976-87.
6.
Spencer CT, Dragovic SM, Conant SB, Gray JJ, Zheng M, Samir P, Niu X, Moutaftsi M, PubMed
Van Kaer L, Sette A, Link AJ, Joyce S. Sculpting MHC class II-restricted self and nonself peptidome by the class I Ag-processing machinery and its impact on Th-cell
responses. Eur J Immunol. 2013 May; 43(5):1162-72.
7.
Spencer CT, Abate G, Sakala IG, Xia M, Truscott SM, Eickhoff CS, Linn R, Blazevic A,
Metkar SS, Peng G, Froelich CJ, Hoft DF. Granzyme A produced by ?(9)d(2) T cells
induces human macrophages to inhibit growth of an intracellular pathogen. PLoS
Pathog. 2013 Jan; 9(1):e1003119.
8.
Gordy LE, Bezbradica JS, Flyak AI, Spencer CT, Dunkle A, Sun J, Stanic AK, Boothby PubMed
MR, He YW, Zhao Z, Van Kaer L, Joyce S. IL-15 regulates homeostasis and terminal
maturation of NKT cells. J Immunol. 2011 Dec 15; 187(12):6335-45.
PubMed
9.
Hoft DF, Babusis E, Worku S, Spencer CT, Lottenbach K, Truscott SM, Abate G, Sakala PubMed
IG, Edwards KM, Creech CB, Gerber MA, Bernstein DI, Newman F, Graham I,
Anderson EL, Belshe RB. Live and inactivated influenza vaccines induce similar
humoral responses, but only live vaccines induce diverse T-cell responses in young
children. J Infect Dis. 2011 Sep 15; 204(6):845-53.
10. Spencer CT, Gilchuk P, Dragovic SM, Joyce S. Minor histocompatibility antigens: PubMed
presentation principles, recognition logic and the potential for a healing hand. Curr
Opin Organ Transplant. 2010 Aug; 15(4):512-25.
11. Lee K, Gudapati P, Dragovic S, Spencer C, Joyce S, Killeen N, Magnuson MA, Boothby PubMed
M. Mammalian target of rapamycin protein complex 2 regulates differentiation of
Th1 and Th2 cell subsets via distinct signaling pathways. Immunity. 2010 Jun 25;
32(6):743-53.
12. Spencer CT, Abate G, Blazevic A, Hoft DF. Only a subset of phosphoantigen- PubMed
responsive gamma9delta2 T cells mediate protective tuberculosis immunity. J
Immunol. 2008 Oct 01; 181(7):4471-84.
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