Maria-Luisa Alegre

About

Dr. Maria-Luisa Alegre is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, with research focused on T cell responses in transplantation, autoimmunity, and cancer. Her laboratory emphasizes the study of T cell tolerance, particularly in the context of transplantation, and investigates how infections and inflammatory events influence immune tolerance mechanisms. Her work has demonstrated that transplantation tolerance exists along a spectrum of robustness depending on the activation of multiple T cell tolerance mechanisms, and that infections and inflammation can compromise these mechanisms, impacting transplant outcomes. Additionally, Dr. Alegre's research explores the role of microbiota in modulating immune responses, with findings indicating that manipulating microbiota can enhance graft survival and offer new therapeutic opportunities. Her clinical studies examine the immunology of transplant recipients and patients infected with bacteria affecting transplant success, and her collaborative work extends to understanding how microbiota influences melanoma patient responses to immunotherapy. Dr. Alegre has contributed significantly to the field through her research, leadership roles, and recognition as a distinguished fellow and council member in various immunology and transplant societies.

Research topics

• Biology
• Immunology
• Genetics
• Medicine
• Cell biology
• Virology
• Microbiology

Selected publications

• Pregnancy-induced humoral sensitization overrides T cell tolerance to fetus-matched allografts in mice

  Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2021 · 41 citations

  Immunological tolerance to semiallogeneic fetuses is necessary to achieving successful first pregnancy and permitting subsequent pregnancies with the same father. Paradoxically, pregnancy is an important cause of sensitization, resulting in the accelerated rejection of offspring-matched allografts. The underlying basis for divergent outcomes following reencounter of the same alloantigens on transplanted organs versus fetuses in postpartum females is incompletely understood. Using a mouse model t…

  DOI

• Tregs in transplantation tolerance: role and therapeutic potential

  Frontiers in Transplantation · 2023-08-30 · 40 citations

  reviewOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  regulatory T cells (Tregs) are indispensable for preventing autoimmunity, and they play a role in cancer and transplantation settings by restraining immune responses. In this review, we describe evidence for the importance of Tregs in the induction versus maintenance of transplantation tolerance, discussing insights into mechanisms of Treg control of the alloimmune response. Further, we address the therapeutic potential of Tregs as a clinical intervention after transplantation, highlighting engi…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Inhibition of protective immunity against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> infection by MHC-restricted immunodominance is overcome by vaccination

  Science Advances · 2020 · 24 citations

  is protective and provide a mechanistic roadmap for future vaccine design.

  DOI

• Transplantation tolerance modifies donor-specific B cell fate to suppress de novo alloreactive B cells

  Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2020 · 23 citations

  The absence of alloantibodies is a feature of transplantation tolerance. Although the lack of T cell help has been evoked to explain this absence, herein we provide evidence for B cell-intrinsic tolerance mechanisms. Using a murine model of heart tolerance, we showed that alloreactive B cells were not deleted but rapidly lost their ability to differentiate into germinal center B cells and secrete donor-specific antibodies. We inferred that tolerant alloreactive B cells retained their ability to…

  DOI

• Microbiota-dependent and -independent effects of obesity on transplant rejection and hyperglycemia

  American Journal of Transplantation · 2023-06-24 · 16 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R56AI052352

  NIH · $390k · 2010

• NIH Grant R01AI052352

  NIH · $3.4M · 2015

• Project-002

  NIH · $43.6M · 2012–2028

Frequent coauthors

• Anita S. Chong

  University of Chicago

  55 shared

• Luqiu Chen

  33 shared

• Christine McIntosh

  University of Chicago

  29 shared

• Craig B. Thompson

  28 shared

• Fabrice Desalle

  Erasmus Hospital

  23 shared

• Oberdan Léo

  Université Libre de Bruxelles

  22 shared

• Luciana Molinero

  22 shared

• Michel Goldman

  Institut Pasteur

  22 shared

Labs

• Maria-Luisa AlegrePI

Education

• B.S.

  Universite Libre de Bruxelles

  1981

• M.D.

  Universite Libre de Bruxelles

  1985

• Other

  Universite Libre de Bruxelles

  1989

• Ph.D., Immunology

  University of Chicago

  1993

• Ph.D., Medical Sciences

  Universite Libre de Bruxelles

  1994

Awards & honors

• Elected Distinguished Fellow American Association of Immunol…
• Elected Fellow American Association for the Advancement of S…
• Elected Fellow American Society of Transplantation 2020
• Established Investigator Award American Society of Transplan…
• Paul S. Russell Visiting Professor Massachusetts General Hos…

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• Rishi Arorah-52
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