David Briscoe, MD
| Department | Nephrology |
 |
| Hospital Title | Assistant in Medicine | |
| Academic Title | Associate Professor of Medicine | |
| Phone | 617-355-6129 | |
| Fax | 617-730-0569 | |
| David Briscoe | ||
| Location |
300 Longwood Avenue Hunnewell-3 Boston MA 02115 |
Research Overview
David Briscoe's research is directed at improving the success of kidney transplants. His laboratory is identifying molecular patterns that may be useful in monitoring patients for early signs of rejection, assessing the efficacy of immunosuppresive drugs following transplantation, and identifying patients at high risk for chronic rejection. Specifically, he is exploring three broad areas of leukocyte-endothelial cell biology:
- The immune mechanisms of angiogenesis. Briscoe and colleagues have proposed that cell surface molecules and cytokines expressed by activated T cells mediate the angiogenesis reaction, which is initiated when lymphocytes and monocytes move into transplanted organs, and that angiogenesis may set the stage for inflammation.
- The role of the endothelium in recognizing transplanted tissue. In the so-called direct pathway, T cells recognize intact MHC molecules on the surface of donor cells; in the indirect pathway, T cells recognize processed donor antigen displayed as peptides by antigen-presenting cells. Recently, the Briscoe team identified molecular avenues by which the endothelium can modulate both the direct and indirect pathways of graft recognition.
- The role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the transplanted organ. VEGF, a potent angiogenesis factor, also appears to promote inflammation. Briscoe's lab has identified VEGF expression in donor hearts, kidneys and skin grafts that are undergoing rejection. In particular, its expression appears to be most prominent in transplanted organs that exhibit evidence of chronic rejection.
About David Briscoe
Dr. Briscoe graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and divided his postgraduate training in General Medicine and Pediatrics between hospitals in Ireland and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He subsequently trained as a renal fellow at Children's Hospital Boston and as a fellow in vascular biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Wyeth Ayerst Basic Science Young Investigator Award of the American Society for Transplantation.
Key Publications
- Reinders MEJ, Fang JC, Wong W, Ganz P and Briscoe DM. Expression patterns of vascular endothelial growth factor in human cardiac allografts: association with rejection. Transplantation 2003; 76: 224-230.
- Reinders MEJ, Sho M, Robertson SW, Geehan CS and Briscoe DM. Proangiogenic function of CD40L-CD40 interactions. Journal of Immunology 2003; 171: 1534-41.
- Reinders MEJ, Sho M, Izawa A, Wang P, Mukhopadhyay D, Koss KE, Geehan CS Luster AD, Sayegh MH and Briscoe DM. Proinflammatory functions of vascular endothelial growth factor in alloimmunity. Journal of Clinical Investigation 2003; 112: 1655-1665.
