Associate Professor
E-mail: cvsrikanth at rcb dot res dot in
Molecular Biology of Infectious and Idiopathic Inflammation
Research in my lab is broadly directed at understanding the key events that cause inflammation during infection and autoimmune disorders. Uncontrolled inflammation contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases as well as the development of cancers. We focus on model bacterial pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium with an ultimate goal to understand molecular mechanisms underlying the observed gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation.
The gram negative, facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen Salmonella is one of the most frequent causes of acute gastroenteritis in humans. The disease results from a complex cascade of interactions between the pathogenic bacterium, the host intestinal epithelium, the commensal microbiota and the immune system of the host. The disease manifestation is characterized histologically by massive infiltration of neutrophils (PMN), a phenotype also observed in some of the chronic recurrent inflammatory disorders with unknown etiology such as Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). CD and UC are GI autoimmine disorders with very high incidence in developing and developed nations.
Using state of the art tools of microbiology, molecular biology and fluorescent-imaging, proteomics we intend to investigate complex mechanisms operational in the gut. Our lab utilises murine models, organotypic models and human patient samples to carry out these investigations. We have been examining the involvement of post-tranlational modification (PTMs) pathways in shaping inflammatory processes of gut. Our recent paradigm shifting discovery, demonstrating host-SUMOylation machinery perturbation by Salmonella using miRNAs has opened up several exciting avenues in biology of infectious diseases and GI illnesses. In future we aim to dissect the precise role of PTM pathways in governing epithelial-immune crosstalk particularly in the context of intestinal inflammation. The ultimate goal is not only to combat bacterial pathogenesis but also find therapeutic solutions to auto-immune disorders.
Dr. Chittur V Srikanth
Associate Professor
Regional Centre for Biotechnology
NCR Biotech Science Cluster
3rd Milestone, Faridabad-Gurgaon Expressway
P.O. Box No. 3, Faridabad - 121 001
Haryana (NCR Delhi), India
E-mail: cvsrikanth at rcb dot res dot in
Phone: 91 129-2848820