Sankar Ghosh, Ph.D.

Professor of Immunobiology Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry

General Interests

Research in our laboratory is focused on understanding how engagement of receptors of both the innate and adaptive immune system lead to the activation of appropriate cellular responses through the inducible transcription factor, NF-kB. NF-kB plays a critical role in regulating the expression of a large number of genes involved in immune, inflammatory and apoptotic processes. NF-kB can be activated by different stimuli such as microbial products, proinflammatory cytokines, T and B cell mitogens and physical and chemical stresses. NF-kB in turn regulates the inducible expression of many cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, acute phase proteins and anti-microbial peptides. Therefore NF-kB plays a central, evolutionarily conserved role in coordinating immune and inflammatory responses. In unstimulated cells, NF-kB is retained in the cytoplasm through its interaction with the inhibitory IkB proteins. Stimulation of cells with different inducers leads to the phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of the IkB proteins. Upon degradation of IkB, the free NF-kB enters the nucleus, however translocation of NF-kB to the nucleus is, in itself, not sufficient to drive transcription of target genes. Instead, specific phosphorylation of one of the NF-kB subunits, p65/RelA, is required for both efficient DNA-binding and transcriptional activity of the nuclear NF-kB. more…

Contact

Campus Address:	300 Cedar Street TAC S625A
Mailing Address:	Yale University School of Medicine PO BOX 208011 New Haven, CT 06520-8011
Phone:	(203) 737-4419
E-mail:	Sankar.Ghosh@yale.edu
Lab Web site:	http://info.med.yale.edu/immuno/ghosh