In-person seminar/Virtual via zoom.

In-person Location:
Murphy Seminar Room: 5th Floor
Clinical Translational Research Center Buffalo, NY 14203

Autoimmune diseases have long been postulated to be triggered by infections with a diverse cadre of pathogens, including bacteria such as streptococci, viruses including HIV, EBV and dengue, and other microorganisms.

The scale of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has generated large cohorts of patients and extensive banks of biospecimens which has created an unprecedented opportunity to test the hypothesis that a specific pathogen can induce new autoimmune manifestations or can exacerbate pre-existing autoimmunity.

The Utz lab has used multiplexed protein microarrays to characterize autoantibodies in acute COVID-19, long CIVID (termed post acute sequelae of COVID-19, PASC), infections with other respiratory pathogens, and in vaccine responses. Anti-cytokine antibodies (ACA) are commonly observed in severe COVID-19 and in pre-pandemic samples from patients with ARDS. A subset of ACA block cytokine signaling by preventing binding to their cognate receptors.

This talk will focus on the ever-expanding link between autoimmunity and infection.

Elizabeth Bengert
Email: ebengert@buffalo.edu