Mark D. Wewers, MD Professor

201 Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute
473 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: (614) 247-7707
wewers.2@osu.edu

Schedule a Pulmonary Appointment

Clinical Interests
Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency
Emphysema
Septic shock

Research Interests
Innate immunity
Macrophage biology
Septic responses

NetWellness

Dr. Wewers is a NetWellness expert in pulmonary fibrosis and lung and respiratory diseases.  NetWellness is an unbiased, non-profit consumer health information service delivered on the Web through the collaborative efforts of the University of Cincinnati, The Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University.  Since 1995, NetWellness’ mission has been to provide the highest quality health information and education to meet the growing trend of the public to use the Internet for medical and health information.  Health care professionals, including physicians, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, dentists, genetic counselors, optometrists, psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, speech and hearing therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, and social workers answer consumer questions and provide current health information.

Mark has appointments in the Departments of Internal Medicine, of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics and in the Interdisciplinary Program in Biophysics.  He is also a member of the Integrated Biomedical Science Graduate Program. He joined the Ohio State faculty in 1986 after research training in the Pulmonary Branch at the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. Mark currently is the recipient of NIH funding from the NHLBI and is director of an NIH training grant to study the Molecular Mechanisms of Lung Inflammation.  He has served as permanent member of the NIH Lung Biology Pathology A Study Section and is a frequent reviewer for the NIH.

Macrophage function in lung inflammatory conditions has been the central focus of Dr. Wewers’ investigations.  The laboratory has focused on innate immune mechanisms with interest in the regulation of cytokines, especially interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), TNFa and IL-8.  Most recently work is centered on the regulation of caspase-1 by newly described members of the caspase-recruitment domain (CARD) family of innate immune signaling molecules.  Currently, the discovery of a signaling complex termed “the inflammasome” has prompted studies to understand the formation, composition and fate of the inflammasome’s components.  This work has been extended to the study of sepsis and septic shock in both humans and in murine models with emphasis upon the monocyte and macrophage.  Ongoing projects include measurement of a constellation of about 50 inflammation related genes by real time PCR technology, proteins quantifications by ELISA, and protein complex detection by immunoprecipitation reactions and yeast two-hybrid technology.  In addition, the laboratory is interested in the interaction of macrophages with intracellular pathogens. Recently, inflammasome and caspase-1 studies have focused on the marked ability of the intracellular pathogen, Francisella tularensis to induce caspase-1 activation.

Selected Publications

1. Seshadri S, Duncan MD, Hart JM, Gavrilin MA, Wewers MD. Pyrin levels in human monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages regulate IL-1beta processing and release.
   J Immunol. 2007 Jul 15;179(2):1274-81.
2. Sarkar A, Hall MW, Exline M, Hart J, Knatz N, Gatson NT, Wewers MD. Caspase-1 regulates Escherichia coli sepsis and splenic B cell apoptosis independently of interleukin-1beta and interleukin-18. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2006 Nov 1;174(9):1003-10. Epub 2006 Aug 14.
3. Gavrilin, M. A., Bouakl, I. J., Knatz, N. L., Duncan, M. D., Hall, M. W., Gunn, J. S. & Wewers, M. D. (2006) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103, 141-146.
4. Sarkar, A., Duncan, M., Hart, J., Hertlein, E., Guttridge, D. C. & Wewers, M. D. (2006) J Immunol 176, 4979-4986.
5. Elssner, A., Duncan, M., Gavrilin, M. & Wewers, M. D. (2004) J Immunol 172, 4987-4994.
6. Kim, H. J., Hart, J., Knatz, N., Hall, M. W. & Wewers, M. D. (2004) J Immunol 172, 4948-4955.
7. Wewers, M. D. (2004) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci U. S. A 101, 10241-10242.

Laboratory Personnel

Mikhail Gavrilin, PhD	Research Scientist
Anasuya Sarkar, PhD	Postdoctoral Researcher
Michele Duncan	Research Technician
Sudarshan Seshadri	Graduate Student, Biophysics
Mark W. Hall, MD	Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Judith Hart, MS	Research Laboratory Supervisor
Raquel Raices, BS	Graduate Student, IBGP
Matthew Exline, MD	Research fellow in Pulmonary
Nina Knatz	Research Technician
Ruairi Fahy, MD	Assistant Professor of Medicine