Brian J. Nickoloff, MD, PhD Professor Vice Chairman of Research Director of the Oncology Institute Deputy Director of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center (888) LUHS-888

Regulation Of Epidermopoiesis, Apoptosis, Angiogenesis, And Abnormal Immune Responses In Benign And Malignant Hyperproliferative Skin Disorders

There are several different areas of scientific inquiry being pursued in Dr. Nickoloff’s laboratory. They include focus on primarily three skin diseases: Kaposi’s sarcoma, psoriasis, and basal cell carcinoma. Regarding Kaposi’s sarcoma, they are examining the immunobiological role of co-stimulatory molecule expression (CD80/CD86) by tumor cells as well as determining the etiological and pathophysiological role of HHV-8 using SCID mice engrafted with normal human skin. These studies are conducted in collaboration with Dr. Kim Foreman.

The key questions addressed in their psoriasis-related work involve studies of the role of the immune system. Elucidation of the contribution of T cell/keratinocyte interactions in production of psoriatic lesions using a SCID mouse model is of central importance. These studies are conducted in collaboration with Brian Bonish and Dr. Juan Qin.

The sunlight-induced basal cell carcinoma is being investigated with respect to the importance of Fas ligand (CD95L) expression. The ability for UV-B light to induce CD95L on keratinocytes in vitro and in vivo and characterization of the functional role in which CD95L-positive keratinocytes can induce apoptosis in CD95-positive cells is under active study.

One common theme in many projects involves the regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle progression, and nuclear transcription factors. Clinical translational and basic research approaches are designed to better understand the genetic basis for both benign and malignant proliferative disorders in the skin. Specific topics include the relative role of p16, p21, and p27 in UV light-induced apoptosis, dissecting caspase cascades, and cross-talk between CDK inhibitors, caspases 3/8, and NF-kB-induced cell survival proteins. These studies are being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Mitch Denning.

Graduate Student and Resident Participation

For all of the aforementioned, ongoing projects, Loyola graduate students and house staff are invited to participate. They make ample use of immunohistochemical staining (with antigen retrieval), tissue culture, Western blot analysis, Northern blots, PCR, in situ PCR staining, flow cytometry, lymphocyte proliferation assays, cytotoxicity assays, etc. All interested individuals should feel free to contact Dr. Nickoloff directly.

Publications

View a partial list of Dr. Nickoloff's publications through the National Library of Medicine's PubMed online database.