Latha Prabha Ganesan
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine
Academic information
- Department: Internal Medicine
Research interests
- Lupus Nephritis (LN)
About
Biography
My research over the last 15 years has focused on Fc gamma receptors, particularly their role in immune complex processing, signaling, and immune complex–mediated autoimmune diseases such as lupus and glomerulonephritis. My current research aims to understand the innate immune functions of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and their role in eliminating circulating blood-borne viruses, with a particular interest in the clearance of HIV and antibody-opsonized HIV. This work is fundamental to understanding innate immune functions during HIV infection, how HIV vaccine–elicited antibodies function in vivo through FcγR, and how to enhance the efficacy of HIV immunotherapy.
In addition, my lab is investigating the molecular mechanisms behind bacterial endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide detoxification by liver endothelium and its implications for controlling inflammation during sepsis.
Credentials
Education
- Microbiology - PhD
- Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu, India
Research
Research interests
- Lupus Nephritis (LN)
More about Ganesan lab
The Ganesan lab primarily studies the innate and adaptive immune response of various immune cells during autoimmunity and infectious diseases. The research is focused on two main areas:
Immunological mechanisms that promote local inflammatory injury in kidney during Lupus Nephritis (LN).
- We have identified a previously undescribed population of dendritic cells in LN patient kidneys with unique immunological markers, termed inflammatory dendritic cells (infDC). The infDC are abundant in LN kidney compared to healthy control and interact with intrarenal T cells, suggesting their probable role in the pathogenesis of kidney injury during LN flare. We are now studying the functions of these infDC. This study is fundamental to understanding these key cell populations that appear to drive intrarenal inflammation and advance our knowledge of disease pathogenesis, ultimately informing the development of new therapeutics for LN management.
- Our lab has shown that in liver, LSEC are the major immune cells that clear circulating endotoxin/lipopolysaccharide (LPS); and HDL facilitates clearance. Follow up of previous work, we are involved in identifying the receptor in LSEC and molecular mechanisms involved in eliminating LPS. We are specifically examining how this receptor mediated clearance of LPS controls systemic inflammation during endotoxin associated diseases such as Sepsis.
- We have recently made significant contributions in the field of virology by demonstrating that neutralizing Abs suppress HIV infection by accelerating viral clearance from blood circulation by FcγRIIb in LSEC. This study is central to understanding how HIV vaccine elicited antibodies function in vivo through FcγR and has the potential to enhance the efficacy of HIV immunotherapy.
- We have demonstrated earlier that antibody opsonized autoantigens, which functions as small immune complexes, are eliminated via FcγRIIb in LSEC. This phenomena minimizes deposition of these small immune complexes in end organs like kidney, thereby, reducing the manifestation of inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as glomerulonephritis.