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Amminikutty Jeevan, PhD

Amminikutty Jeevan
Amminikutty Jeevan, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor

Contact

Microbial Pathogenesis & Immunology
Reynolds Medical Building, Room 407
College Station, TX
amminikutty-jeevan@tamu.edu
Phone: 979.436.0348
Fax: 979.436.0360

Education and Training

  • University of Bombay, MSc, 1975
  • University of Bombay, PhD, 1979
  • MRC Clinical Research Centre, England, Postdoctoral, 1985-1987
  • U.T. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Postdoctoral, 1988-1989

Research Interests

  • Our long-term research goals are to delineate the cellular and molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis infection after BCG vaccination and to identify the intrinsic mechanism involved in the reactivation of latent M. tuberculosis infection. Our short-term research objective is to integrate the previous research interests on UVR effects with the guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis. My research at U.T. MD Anderson demonstrated that exposure of mice to environmentally relevant doses of UVR induced immune suppression, increased pathogenesis, and impaired macrophage functions and this phenomenon was mediated by IL-10 and TGF-b. This productive line of research on the mechanism of UVR-induced immunosuppression to M. bovis BCG can be easily adapted to the guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis. The primary aim of these studies is to understand whether UVR alters BCG-vaccination-induced host resistance to infectious challenge with virulent M. tuberculosis. Secondly, it is possible to address whether immunosuppression induced by UVR can induce reactivation of latent M. tuberculosis infection in this model. We hypothesize that UVR modulates vaccine-induced resistance to M. tuberculosis in guinea pigs as well as reactivate latent infection by tipping the immune balance to a Th2 phenotype by generating immunosuppressive cytokines and regulatory T cells.

Representative Publications

  • Jeevan, A, Evans, R, Brown, EL, and Kripke, ML. Effect of local UV irradiation on infections of mice with Candida albicans, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, and Schistosoma mansoni. J. Invest Dermatol 1992;99:59-64.
  • Jeevan, A, Ullrich, SE, Dizon, V, Kripke, ML. Supernatants from UV irradiated keratinocytes decrease the resistance and delayed type hypersensitivity response to Mycobacterium bovis BCG in mice and impair the phagocytic ability of macrophages. Photodermatol Photomed Photoimmunol 1992;9:255-263.
  • Jeevan, A, Gilliam, K, Heard, H, and Kripke, ML. Effects of ultraviolet radiation on the pathogenesis of Mycobacterium lepraemurium infection in mice. Exp Dermatol 1992;1:152-160.
  • Jeevan A., and Kripke ML. Effect of ultraviolet radiation on immune system in mice and humans. Lancet 1993;342:1159-1160.
  • Jeevan, A, Bucana, CD, Dong, Z, Dizon, V, Thomas, SL, Lloyd, TE, and Kripke, ML. Ultraviolet radiation reduces phagocytosis and intracellular killing of mycobacteria and inhibits nitric oxide production by macrophages in mice. J Leukoc Biol 1995;57:883-890.
  • Jeevan, A, Ullrich, SE, De Gracia, M, Shah, R., and Yan Sun. Mechanism of UVB-induced suppression of immune response to Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette Guerin: Role of cytokines. J Photochem Photobiol 1996; 94:259-266.
  • Laud, PR, Loflin, PT, Jeevan, A, and Lawlor, DA. Transporter associated with antigen processing-1 (TAP1) alleles in Gorilla gorilla: Diversification of the locus postspeciation. Human Immunol 1996;50:91-102.
  • Jeevan, A, Yoshimura, T, Foster, G, and McMurray, DN. Effect of BCG vaccination on IL-1b and Rantes mRNA expression in guinea pig cells exposed to attenuated and virulent mycobacteria. Infect Immun 2002;70:1245-1253.
  • Yamamoto, T, Jeevan, A, Ohishi, K, Nojima, Y, Umemori, K, Yamamoto, S, and McMurray DN. A new assay system for guinea pig interferon biological activity J. Interferon Cytokine Res 2002;22:793-797.
  • Jeevan, A, Yoshimura, T, Lee, KE, and McMurray DN. Differential expression of gamma interferon mRNA induced by attenuated and virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in guinea pig cells after M. bovis BCG vaccination. Infect Immun 2003;71:354-364.
  • McMurray, DN., Allen, SS, Jeevan, A, Lasco, T, Cho, H, Skwor, T, Yamamoto, T, McFarland, C, and Yoshimura, T. Vaccine-induced cytokine responses in a guinea pig model of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis 85:295-301, 2005.
  • Jeevan, A, McFarland, CT, Yoshimura, T, Skwor, T, Cho, H, Lasco, T, and McMurray, DN. Production and characterization of guinea pig recombinant gamma interferon and its effect on macrophage activation. Infect Immun 74:213-224, 2006.
  • Takahashi, M, Jeevan, A, Sawant, K, DN. McMurray, and Yoshimura, T. Identification of CXCR1 and CXCR2 in the guinea pig. Mol. Immunol. 44:878-888, 2006.
  • Yamamoto, T., Lasco, T, Uchida, K, Goto, Y, Jeevan, A, McFarland, C, Ly, L, Yamamoto, S, and McMurray, DN. Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination modulates TNF-a production after pulmonary challenge with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis in guinea pigs. Tuberculosis 87:155-165, 2007.
  • Jeevan, A, Majorov, K, Sawant, K, Cho, H, and McMurray, DN. Lung macrophages from bacille Calmette-Guerin-vaccinated guinea pigs suppress T cell proliferation but restrict intracellular growth of M. tuberculosis after recombinant guinea pig interferon-g activation. Clin Exp Immunol 149:387-398, 2007.