Bruce S. Hostager, PhD
Research Profile

Research Interests:

The major aim of our research is to characterize the mechanisms by which members of the TNF receptor (TNFR) family deliver signals to cells of the immune system. Members of this interesting and growing family of receptors regulate cellular activation, differentiation, and programmed cell death in a wide variety of cell types. While these proteins appear to share many intracellular signaling molecules, each receptor delivers its own unique set of signals. Characterizing the signaling pathways involved will potentially lead to novel ways of modulating immune activation in infection, cancer, graft rejection, and autoimmunity.

Lab Members:

• Mikaela Grove, RA1

Affiliations:

• Department of Pediatrics
• Interdisciplinary Program in Immunology
• Biosciences Graduate Program

Model System:

We primarily utilize cell lines in vitro in characterizing the signaling mechanisms used by the by the TNFR family. Our work involves immunology, cell biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry.

Recent Publications:

1. Bishop, G.A., Hostager, B.S. The CD40-CD154 interaction in B cell-T cell liaisons. 2003. Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews. 14(3-4):297-309.
2. Hostager, B.S., Haxhinasto, S.A., Rowland, S.L., Bishop, G.A. TRAF2-Deficient B Cells Reveal Novel Roles for TRAF2 in CD40 Signaling. 2003. J.Biol. Chem. 278:45382-90.
3. Ping Xie*, Bruce S. Hostager*, Melissa E. Munroe, Carissa R. Moore, and Gail A. Bishop. Cooperation between TNF Receptor-Associated Factors 1 and 2 in CD40 Signaling. 2006. J. Immunol. 176: 5388 - 5400 *co-first authors.
4. Rebecca Benson, Bruce Hostager, and Gail Bishop. CD40 rescue from CD95 apoptosis requires TRAF6 and PI3K. E. J. Immunol., in press.