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Faculty
Karl E. Klose, Ph.D. Ph.D. - Microbiology, University of California Berkeley 1993. Research Interests My lab is interested in bacterial pathogenesis -- how bacteria cause disease. I have worked most extensively with Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, and I am also researching Francisella tularensis, the bacterium that causes tularemia, or rabbit fever. Cholera is found only where there are widespread problems with sanitation, so improving water and food supplies would eliminate the disease. Since that is unlikely to occur, a safe, cheap, effective vaccine is needed that would protect people. To design such a vaccine, my lab is addressing questions such as: How does V. cholerae know that it is in a human body and that that is the place to express genes necessary for its survival and disease potential? What are the genetic factors responsible for V. cholerae to cause disease? How does this organism persist in aquatic environments, which lead to human infection? Very little is known about F. tularensis or about tularemia. It is a highly virulent organism and can easily be aerosolized, so it is classified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a Category A select agent with the highest potential to be used as a biological weapon. My lab is working to identify genetic factors responsible for F. tularensis to cause disease and to develop suitable vaccine candidates to protect against tularemia infection. My work in this area will be greatly enhanced by the completion of the UTSA high-level biocontainment (BSL-3) laboratory. Recent Publications Xicohtencatl-Cortes J, Lyons S, Chaparro AP, Hernandez DR, Saldana Z, Ledesma MA, Rendon MA, Gewirtz AT, Klose KE, Giron JA. Identification of proinflammatory flagellin proteins in supernatants of Vibrio cholerae O1 by proteomics analysis. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2006 Dec;5(12):2374-83. Thompson FL, Klose KE; AVIB Group. Vibrio2005: the First International Conference on the Biology of Vibrios. J Bacteriol. 2006 Jul;188(13):4592-6. Pammit MA, Raulie EK, Lauriano CM, Klose KE, Arulanandam BP. Intranasal vaccination with a defined attenuated Francisella novicida strain induces gamma interferon-dependent antibody-mediated protection against tularemia. Infect Immun. 2006 Apr;74(4):2063-71. Klose KE. Increased chatter: cyclic dipeptides as molecules of chemical communication in Vibrio spp. J Bacteriol. 2006 Mar;188(6):2025-6. Santic M, Molmeret M, Klose KE, Abu Kwaik Y. Francisella tularensis travels a novel, twisted road within macrophages. Trends Microbiol. 2006 Jan;14(1):37-44. Prouty MG, Osorio CR, Klose KE. Characterization of functional domains of the Vibrio cholerae virulence regulator ToxT. Mol Microbiol. 2005 Nov;58(4):1143-56. Correa NE, Peng F, Klose KE. Roles of the regulatory proteins FlhF and FlhG in the Vibrio cholerae flagellar transcription hierarchy. J Bacteriol. 2005 Sep;187(18):6324-32. Schild S, Lamprecht AK, Fourestier C, Lauriano CM, Klose KE, Reidl J. Characterizing lipopolysaccharide and core lipid A mutant O1 and O139 Vibrio cholerae strains for adherence properties on mucus-producing cell line HT29-Rev MTX and virulence in mice. Int J Med Microbiol. 2005 Aug;295(4):243-51. Santic M, Molmeret M, Klose KE, Jones S, Kwaik YA. The Francisella tularensis pathogenicity island protein IglC and its regulator MglA are essential for modulating phagosome biogenesis and subsequent bacterial escape into the cytoplasm. Cell Microbiol. 2005 Jul;7(7):969-79. Correa NE, Klose KE. Characterization of enhancer binding by the Vibrio cholerae flagellar regulatory protein FlrC. J Bacteriol. 2005 May;187(9):3158-70.
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