Home| Professor of Microbiology |
Director, Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science |
Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 2300 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 2185 |
| Email: | m.a.curtis@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: | Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, |
Biography
Mike Curtis was awarded a PhD from London University in microbial anaerobic nitrogen metabolism in 1980. He then spent five years as a visiting post-doctoral scientist at the NIH in the USA working in the field of anaerobic microbial biochemistry prior to joining the staff of the Medical Research Council in an MRC Dental Unit based at the London Hospital Medical College in 1985. Since 1994 he has held MRC programme and project grant funding involving genetic and biochemical analysis of microbial proteolytic enzymes.
He was awarded a personal chair by the University of London in 1999 and in 2000 was appointed to Professor of Microbiology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He was Dean for Research of the School of Medicine and Dentistry 2002-2004 and since 2003 has been Director of the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science.
Research Activity
Current research is focused in two main areas. First, the cell surface polysaccharides, lipo-polysaccharides and proteolytic enzymes of Porphyromonas gingivalis, one of the key pathogens in periodontal disease, are key virulence determinants and play important roles in both the persistence of this bacterium in chronic disease and its interaction with the immune and inflammatory systems of the host. In MRC funded studies, we are using biochemical and classical genetics approaches to determine the structure and biosynthetic pathways of these macromolecules. The results demonstrate a high degree of structural diversity which leads to dramatic influences on biological function. The mechanisms underlying this structural diversity and their regulation emphasise the critical role of environmental parameters on the virulence phenotype of this bacterium. The second area of research, funded through the NIH, aims to determine the role of the commensal bacteria in the development of the innate immune response and maintenance of health in the oral tissues. These studies involve comparative molecular analysis of periodontal tissues from germ free versus conventionally reared mice and examination of the influence of individual bacterial species on the expression of markers of health. The results are demonstrating that the commensal flora modulates the expression of some components of this system whilst other aspects of the defence of these tissues are developmentally programmed. Understanding the relative contribution of the commensal flora to the maintenance of health in the mouth may provide new avenues for the development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for the prevention and control of diseases of these tissues.
Key Publications
• Scragg MA, Alsam A, Rangarajan M, Slaney JM. Shepherd P, Williams DM and MA Curtis (2002) Nuclear targeting of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 protease (HRgpA) in epithelial cells. Infection and Immunity 70: 5740-50.
• Curtis MA, Aduse Opoku J, Rangarajan M, Gallagher A, Sterne JAC, Reid CR, Evans HEA ,and B Samuelsson (2002) Attenuation of the virulence of Porphyromonas gingivalis using a specific synthetic Kgp protease inhibitor Infection and Immunity 70: 6968-75 .
• Waite R, Papakonstantinopoulou A, Littler E and Curtis MA (2005) Transcriptomics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth - a comparison of gene expression in planktonic cultures, developing and mature biofilms Journal of Bacteriology 187: 6571-6576.
• Paramonov N, Rangarajan M, Hashim A, Gallagher A, Aduse-Opoku J, Slaney J, Hounsell EF and Curtis MA (2005). Structural analysis of a novel anionic polysaccharide from Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 related to Arg-gingipains. Molecular Microbiology 58: 847-863.• Slaney JM, Gallagher A, Aduse-Opoku J., Pell K.and Curtis MA (2006). Mechanisms of resistance of Porphyromonas gingivalis to killing by serum complement. Infection and Immunity 74: 5352-61.
• Rangarajan M, Aduse-Opoku J, Paramonov N, Hashim A, Bostanci N, Fraser OP, Tarelli E, and Curtis MA(2008) Identification of a Second Lipopolysaccharide in Porphyromonas gingivalis W50. J Bacteriol.190: 2920-322008.
