Kei Yasuda

Instructor of Medicine

Education:

2005-2007 Post-doc – Boston University School of Medicine, USA
2003-2005 Post-doc – Technische Universität München, Germany
2003 Ph.D - Kyoto University, Japan

General field of research:

Autoimmunity, Immunology

Contact information:

Office

E524, 72 East Concord Street

kyasuda@bu.edu

Keywords:

Systemic lupus erythematosus; Toll-like receptor-7/9; Interferon regulatory factor-5; Autoimmunity; Dendritic cells; CpG motifs

Summary of research interest:

I am interested in the study of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and their role in the development of the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Currently I am focusing on two projects: 1) Determining how DNA-containing immune complexes stimulate TLR9 to induce type I IFN by dendritic cells. 2) Examining the role of interferon regulatory factor-5 (IRF5) in the development of SLE in mice.

Recent publications:

C. Richez,* K. Yasuda,* R. G. Bonegio, A. Watkins, T. Aprahamian, P. Busto, R. J. Richards, C. L. Liu, R. Cheung, P. J. Utz, A. Marshak-Rothstein, and I. R. Rifkin.   2010.  Interferon regulatory factor 5 is required for disease development in the FcgammaRIIB-/-Yaa and FcgammaRIIB-/- mouse models of systemic lupus erythematosus. 
J Immunol.; 184(2):796-806 *Those authors contributed equally to this work.

K. Yasuda†, C. Richez, M. B. Uccellini, R. J. Richards, R. G. Bonegio, S. Akira, M. Monestier, R. B. Corley, G. A. Viglianti, A. Marshak-Rothstein, and I. R. Rifkin†.   2009.  Requirement for DNA CpG content in TLR9-dependent dendritic cell activation induced by DNA-containing immune complexes. 
J Immunol.; 183(5):3109-17.  This paper is featured in ‘In This Issue’ which highlights articles among the top 10% of articles published in Journal of Immunology. † Double corresponding authors.

N. M. Green, A. Laws, K. Kiefer, L. Busconi, Y. Kim, M. M. Brinkmann, E. H. Trail, K. Yasuda, S. R. Christensen, M. J. Shlomchik, S. Vogel, J. H. Connor, H. Ploegh, D. Eilat, I. R. Rifkin, J. M. van Seventer, and A. Marshak-Rothstein.  2009.  Murine B cell response to TLR7 ligands depends on an IFN-beta feedback loop. 
J Immunol.; 183(3):1569-76

P. Lenert, K. Yasuda, L. Busconi, P. Nelson, C. Fleenor, R. S. Ratnabalasuriar, P. L. Nagy, R. F. Ashman, I. R. Rifkin and A. Marshak-Rothstein.  2009.  DNA-like class R inhibitory oligonucleotides (INH-ODN) preferentially block autoantigen-induced B cell and dendritic cell activation in vitro and autoantibody production in lupus-prone MRL-Fas lpr/lpr mice in vivo. 
Arthritis Res Ther.; 11(3):R79

C. Richez,* K. Yasuda,* A. A. Watkins, S. Akira, R. Lafyatis, J. Van Seventer, and Ian R. Rifkin.
 2009.  Toll-like receptor 4 ligands induce IFN-alpha production by mouse conventional dendritic cells and human monocytes after IFN-beta priming.  J Immunol.;  182(2):820-8. * Those authors contributed equally to this work.

K. Yasuda, C. Richez, J.W. Maciaszek, N. Agrawal, S. Akira, A. Marshak-Rothstein, and I. R. Rifkin.
 2007.  Murine dendritic cell type I interferon production induced by human IgG-RNA immune complexes is IRF5- and IRF7-dependent, and is required for IL-6 production.  J Immunol.; 178(11):6876-85.

K. Yasuda, M. Rutz, B. Schlatter, J. Metzger, P.B. Luppa, F. Schmitz, T. Haas, A. Heit, S. Bauer, and H. Wagner.
 2006.  CpG motif-independent activation of TLR9 upon endosomal translocation of “natural” phosphodiester DNA.  Eur J Immunol.; 36(2):431-6.

K. Yasuda, P. Yu, C.J. Kirschning, B. Schlatter, F. Schmitz, A. Heit, S. Bauer, H. Hochrein, and H. Wagner.  2005.  Endosomal translocation of vertebrate DNA activates dendritic cells via TLR9-dependent and -independent pathways.  J Immunol.; 174(10):6129-36.