• Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
• Member, Walther Oncology Center
• Associate Scientific Director of the Walther Oncology Center
  
• Campus Address: R2 327
• Telephone: (317) 7565
• E-mail: lpelus@iupui.edu

Hal Broxmeyer named distinguished professor at IUSM (click here for more details)

Janice Blum discusses Immunology & Infectious Diseases (click here for more details)

Training:
• B.Sc., 1973, Queens College, City University of New York
• M.Sc., 1977, Rutgers University
• Ph.D., 1977, Rutgers University
• Post Doctoral, 1977-1980, Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research,
  New York, NY

Summary of the focus of the research of Dr. Pelus :
To identify mechanisms of action of stem cell mobilizers that will lead to safer and faster isolation of blood stem cells that can be used to cure leukemia and other cancers; to understand the role of the inhibitor of apoptosis family of proteins in normal and cancer biology.

Description and summary of research focus of the laboratory:
Dr. Pelus' laboratory is interested in the mechanisms that control blood cell proliferation, differentiation and migration, and how these pathways can be leveraged to define new therapies for leukemia and cancer. The primary focus of the laboratory is to understand the mechanisms that control hematopoiesis, the process by which blood cells are produced, and the disordered regulation of cell proliferation and survival characteristic of cancer cells. These studies are progressing at the molecular, cellular and animal level. In the hematopoietic system, marrow stem cells can be forced to migrate to peripheral blood where they can be collected and used for transplantation, a curative therapy for many cancers. The laboratory has identified GRO beta , a member   of a family of peptides called chemokines, which stimulates the migration of stem cells that are able to completely reconstitute hematopoiesis from bone marrow to blood. Chemokine "mobilized" stem cells restore blood formation more rapidly than cells mobilized by hematopoietic growth factors such as G-CSF. The chemokine GRO beta specifically interacts with the CXCR2 chemokine receptor on blood neutrophils releasing matrix metalloproteinases that we believe are responsible for the "release" of cells from bone marrow. Studies are currently underway to determine the differences between GRO beta and G-CSF mobilized stem cells, the intracellular and extracellular events initiated by GRO beta -CXCR2 interaction that leads to migration of stem cells and how this is regulated, and how combination therapy with other cytokines, chemokines and their receptors can define new paradigms for stem cell transplantation. The answer to these questions will benefit patients receiving extensive chemotherapy who require hematopoietic support or who could benefit from curative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Identification of genes in stem cells that are regulated by hematopoietic growth factors and involved in normal cell proliferation and in the "override" of programmed cell death or "apoptosis" characteristic of cancer cells, is another prime area of interest of the laboratory. We have determined that the recently identified inhibitor of apoptosis family member, Survivin, that has been linked to unchecked proliferation in cancer cells, may play an important role in regulating cell cycle entry and cell division in normal hematopoietic stem cells. We are currently defining the intracellular mechanisms whereby Survivin regulates cell cycle, and using retroviral and mouse genetic model approaches to determine the consequences of modulating Survivin expression on long-term hematopoiesis in vivo and its oncogenic potential. We have identified novel intracellular signaling pathways for Survivin, interacting with the p53 family of tumor suppressors, c-Abl and Cdc34 and are characterizing the contribution of these pathways to tumorigenesis.

Publications
King AG, Horowitz D, Levin R, Farese AM, MacVittie TJ and Pelus LM .  Rapid mobilization of murine hematopoietic stem cells with enhanced engraftment properties and evaluation of hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization in rhesus monkeys by a single injection of SB-251353, a specific truncated form of the human CXC chemokine GRO b .  Blood 97:1534-1542, 2001.

Fukuda S and Pelus LM . Regulation of the inhibitor-of-apoptosis family member survivin in normal cord blood and bone marrow CD34 + cells by hematopoietic growth factors: implication of survivin expression in normal hematopoiesis. Blood 98:2091-2100, 2001.

LM Pelus, H Bian, AG King and S Fukuda. Neutrophil-Derived MMP-9 Mediates Synergistic Mobilization of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells by the Combination of G-CSF and the Chemokines GROb/CXCL2 and GROb T /CXCL2 ?4 . Blood 103:110-119, 2004.

Fukuda S, Foster R, Porter S and Pelus LM. The anti-apoptosis protein, Survivin, regulates cell cycle entry of normal cord blood CD34+ cells and modulates cell cycle and proliferation of mouse hematopoietic progenitor cells. Blood 100:2463-2471, 2002.

S Fukuda, CR Mantel and LM Pelus. Survivin Regulates Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Proliferation through p21 WAF1/Cip1 Dependent and Independent Pathways. Blood 103: 120-127, 2004.

Z Wang, S Fukuda and LM Pelus. Survivin regulates the p53 tumor suppressor gene family. Oncogene 23:8146-8153, 2004.

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