Stephen Wikel, Ph.D.
Professor;
Senior Scientist, Center for Tropical Diseases, Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases
University of Texas Medical Branch
301 University Boulevard
Galveston, TX 77555-0609
Office: (409) 747-2412
skwikel@utmb.edu
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Professional Education
| Degree |
Institution |
Field of Study |
Graduation Year |
| B.A. |
Shippensburg State College |
Biology and Chemistry |
1967 |
| M.Sc. |
Vanderbilt University |
Biology (parasitology) |
1973 |
| Ph.D. |
University of Saskatchewan |
Veterinary Microbiology |
1977 |
| Post-doctoral Fellowship |
Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health |
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Research Interests
Emerging and re-emerging diseases transmitted by blood feeding arthropods are significant global public health problems. A major focus of my research is characterization of the complex cellular and molecular immunology of the tick-hostpathogen interface. During the course of blood feeding, ticks introduce pharmacologically active molecules into the host that are essential for both obtaining a blood meal and for successful transmission of infectious agents. Some of these molecules stimulate host innate and specific acquired immune responses that induce resistance to tick feeding. In turn, ticks have developed immunomodulatory countermeasures, which suppress or deviate host innate and specific acquired immune responses. Interactions between host immunity and tick mediated immunomodulation are central to successful tick feeding and disease transmission. Efforts are directed toward the elucidation of the cellular and molecular interactions that occur at the tick-host-pathogen interface. Immunomodulatory proteins in tick saliva are being isolated, characterized, and the genes encoding those molecules are being cloned and expressed. The roles and interactions of those molecules are being studied.
In addition to characterizing the fundamental immunological aspects of these interactions, a combination of genomic and proteomic approaches are being used to identify relevant salivary gland derived proteins. A goal of this research is to develop a novel "vector-blocking" vaccine, which will target those molecules introduced by the tick which are essential for successful feeding and transmission of infectious agents. This strategy is designed to circumvent the need to develop vaccines for each individual tickborne pathogen. Similar approaches are now being applied in this laboratory to the study of the medically important mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Not only do mosquitoes induce host immune responses, but bites by some mosquito species are known to reduce host immune defenses. Characterizing those responses and the molecules responsible for them is a primary focus of this research program. Utilizing an understanding of the complex interactions at the tick and mosquitohost interfaces allows us to now incorporate into these associations vector-borne spirochetes, rickettsiae and arboviruses. Focused systems biology approaches are being developed and utilized to characterize at the molecular level the interplay among ticks and mosquitoes and their hosts and the pathogens transmitted by these arthropods of medical and veterinary public health importance.
Selected Publications
- Maxwell, S.S., Stoklasek, T.A., Dash, Y., Macaluso, K.R. and Wikel, S.K. (2005). Tick modulation of skin derived endothelial cell adhesion molecule expression in vitro. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 99:661-672.
- Ribeiro, J.M.C., Alarcon-Chaidez, F., Francischetti, I.M.B., Mans, B., Mather, T.N., Valenzuela and Wikel, S.K. (2006). An updated catalog of salivary gland transcripts from Ixodes scapularis ticks. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 36:111-129.
- Alarcon-Chaidez, F., Ryan, R., Wikel, S., Dardick,K, Lawler, C., Foppa, I., Tomas, P., Cushman, A., Hsieh, A., Spielman, A., Bouchard, K., Dias, F., Aslanzadeh, J. and Krause, P. (2006). Confirmation of tick bite by antibody to Ixodes calreticulin salivary protein. Clinical and Vaccine Immunology 13:1217-1222.
- Ribeiro, J.M.C., Arca, B., Lombardo, F., Calvo, E., Phan, V.M., Chandra, P.K. and Wikel, S.K. (2007). An annotated catalogue of salivary gland transcripts in the adult female mosquito, Aedes aegypti. BMC Genomics 8:6 www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2164/8/6
- Alarcon-Chaidez, F.J., Sun, J., and Wikel, S.K. (2007). Transcriptome analysis of the salivary glands of the tick Dermacentor andersoni Stiles (Acari: Ixodidae). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 37:48-71.
- Geraci, N.S., Johnston, J.S., Robinson, J.P., Wikel, S.K. and Hill, C.A. (2007). Variation of genome size of argasid and ixodid ticks. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 37:399-408.
- Müller-Doblies, U.U., S.S. Maxwell, Boppana, V.D., Mihalyo, M.A., McSorley, S.J., Vella, A.T., Adler, A.J. and Wikel, S.K. (2007). Feeding by the tick, Ixodes scapularis, causes CD4+ T-cells responding to cognate antigen to develop capacity to express interleukin-4. Parasite Immunology 29:485-499.
- Brossard, M and Wikel, S.K. (2008). Tick immunobiology. In, Ticks: Biology, Disease and Control. Bowman, A.S. and Nuttall, P.A. (Eds). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. pp. 186-204.
- Alarcon-Chaidez, F.J., Boppana, V.D., Hagymasi, A.T., Adler, A.J. and Wikel, S.K. (2009). A novel sphingomyelinase-like enzyme in Ixodes scapularis tick saliva drives host CD4+ T cells to express IL-4. Parasite Immunology 31:210-219.
- Boppana, V.D., Thangamani, S., Adler, A.J. and Wikel, S.K. (2009). SAAG-4 is a novel mosquito salivary protein that programs host CD4+ T cells to express IL-4. Parasite Immunology 31:287-295.
- Thangamani, S and Wikel, S. (2009). Differential expression of Aedes aegypti salivary transcriptome upon blood feeding. Parasites and Vectors 2:34 doi:10.1186/1756-3305-2-34.
- Krause, P.J., Grant-Kels, J.M., Tahan, S.R., Dardick, K.R., Alarcon-Chaidez, F., Bouchard, K., Visini, C., Deriso, C., Foppa, I.M. and Wikel, S.K. (2009). Dermatologic changes induced by repeated Ixodes scapularis bites and implications for prevention of tick-borne infection. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (In press).
NIH Biosketch
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