Gwendalyn J. Randolph, Ph.D.
January 1, 2014
Department of Pathology and Immunology
Division of Immunobiology
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO
From L to R, back row. Jesse Williams, Bernd Zinselmeyer, Gwen Randolph, Peter Wang, Stoyan Ivanov, Andrew Elvington
Front L to R: Shashi Bala, Catherine Martel
Primary Research:
Our research integrates the study of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells with vascular and lymphatic vessel biology. Atherosclerosis is a disease that merges these areas of research. We began work several years ago to investigate the role lymphatic vessels in egress of foam cells out of plaques. While working to understand why dendritic cell migration through lymphatic vessels is impaired in apoE-/- and LDLR-/- mice, we observed that lymphatic transport became impaired by hypercholesterolemia. This observation led to our recent study that reveals a key role for lymphatic vessels in macrophage reverse cholesterol transport. These findings together cause us to ask: if lymphatic function is decreased in response to hypercholesterolemia but at the same time lymphatics are the critical route for cholesterol clearance, then would steps to correct lymphatic transport during hypercholesterolemia allow for improved cholesterol removal from atherosclerotic plaques? Through our studies on the migration of monocyte-derived dendritic cells and other dendritic cells through lymphatic vessels, we have also taken a keen interest in the functional properties of lymphatic vessels and the adipose tissue that surrounds them. We are thus branching out to explore crosstalk between immune cells and lymphatics and how these interactions might affect lymphatic function, immune and inflammatory responses, and adipose tissue.
Lab Members:
Instructors:
Bernd Zinselmeyer. PhD 2006, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland; intravital imaging.
Keke Fairfax. PhD 2009, Yale University; macrophages, immunity in granulomas and atherosclerotic plaques.
Postdoctoral Fellows:
Stoyan Ivanov. PhD 2011, Pasteur Institute, Lille, France; lymphatic vessels and adipose tissue
Andrew Elvington. PhD 2012, Medical University of South Carolina; macrophages and lymphatics atherosclerosis
Jesse Williams. PhD 2013, University of Chicago; immunity in atherosclerosis
Laboratory Manager:
Shashi Bala, MS; vascular / lymphatic biology and creeping fat in Crohn's disease
Technician:
Peter Wang, BS, 2012, Cornell University.
Number of Trainee Members:
All of the above and two rotating PhD students
Find more information on the web:
http://immunobiology.wustl.edu/randolph-gwendalyn.asp
Recent Alumnae (publishing with the lab in 2013):
Claudia Jakubzick, PhD. Assistant Professor, National Jewish Health, Denver.
Emmanuel Gautier, PhD. Group Leader, INSERM, Paris, France.
Catherine Martel, PhD. Assistant Professor, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec.
Andrew Platt, PhD. Scientific Advisor, Quintiles, Scotland.
Recent Publications:
C. Martel, W. Li, B. Fulp, A. M. Platt, E. L. Gautier, M.Westerterp, R. Bittman, A. R. Tall, S. H. Chen, M. J. Thomas, D.Kreisel, M. A. Swartz, M. G. Sorci-Thomas, G. J. Randolph. 2013. Lymphatic vasculature mediates macrophage reverse cholesterol transport in mice. J. Clin. Invest., 123:1571-1579. PMCID: 3613904.
A. M. Platt, J. M. Rutkowski, C. Martel, E.L. Kuan, S. Ivanov, M.A. Swartz, G.J. Randolph. 2013. Normal dendritic cell mobilization to lymph nodes under conditions of severe lymphatic hypoplasia. J. Immunol, 190:4608-4620. PMCID: 3634097.
C. Jakubzick, E. L. Gautier, S. L. Gibbings, D. K. Sojka, A. Schlitzer, S. Ivanov, T. E. Johnson, Q. Duan, S. Bala, T. Condon, N. Van Rooijen, J. R. Grainger, Y. Belkaid, A. Ma'ayan, W. M. Yokoyama, F. Ginhoux, P. Henson, G. J. Randolph. 2013. Minimal differentiation of classical monocytes as they survey steady state tissues and transport antigens to lymph nodes. Immunity, 39:5999-610. PMID: 24012416.
EL Gautier, S Ivanov, P Lesnik, GJ Randolph. 2013. Local apoptosis mediates clearance of macrophages from sites of inflammation in mice. BLOOD, 122:2714-22. PMID:2397419.