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Dr. Thomas M. Petro

Title: Professor

Address
Room: 24I
UNMC College of Dentistry
40th and Holdrege
Box 830740
Lincoln, NE 68583-0740


Oral Biology Department
Bioregulation Group
Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling
Nebraska Center for Virology


Telephone: (402) 472-1327
Fax: (402) 472-2551
email: tpetro@unmc.edu

Education:

• B.S. (Microbiology), Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
• M.S. (Microbiology), Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
• Ph.D. (Immunology/Microbiology), Miami University, Oxford, Ohio
• Postdoc (Immunology/Nutrition), Purdue University, W. Lafayette, Indiana

Teaching Responsibilities:

• Course Instructor, A Review of Biomedical/Dental Sciences (OB471)
• Course Director, Fundamentals of Microbiology (OB 514)
• Course Director, Immunology (OB 325)
• Course Director, Immunology and Microbiology of Oral Infectious Disease (OBIO 866)

Research Interests:

• IL-12 family of cytokines and autoimmune inflammatory disease; molecular immunobiology

Grants:

• National Multiple Sclerosis Society, "Role of IL-12 gene expression in virus-induced encephalomyelitis." Principal investigator, $209,708. 10/1/02 - 9/1/05
• PP1423 National Multiple Sclerosis Society, "Effect of resveratrol on development of EAE". Principal Investigatory, Funded $44, 000. 7/1/07 - 6/30/08
• P20 RR18759 National Institutes of Health (10% effort) Nebraska Center for Cellular Signaling (M.J. Wheelock, PI) 9/19/03 -6/30/13

Recent Publications:

• Petro, T.M. ERK-MAP-kinases differentially regulate expression of IL-23 p19 compared with p40 and IFN-beta in Theiler's virus-infected RAW264.7 cells. Immunol Lett. 15;97(1):47-53, Feb 2005.
• Petro, T.M. Disparate expression of IL-12 by SJL/J and B10.S macrophages during Theiler's virus infection is associated with activity of TLR7 and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinases. Microbes and Infection. 7: 224-232, 2005.
• Petro, T.M. Modulation of IL-12 p35 and p40 promoter activity by smokeless Tobacco extract is associated with an effect upon activation of NF-kB but not IRF Transcription factors. International Immunopharmacology 3: 735-745, 2003.
• Vaidyanathan, H, Zhou Y, Petro, T.M., and Schwartzbach, SD. Intracellular localization of the p35 subunit of murine IL-12. Cytokine 21: 120-128, 2003.
• Petro T.M., Anderson LL, Gowler JS, Liu X, and Schwartzbach SD. Smokeless tobacco extract decreases IL-12 production from LPS-stimulated but decreases IL-12 from IFN-gamma-stimulated macrophages. International Immunopharmacology 2:345-355, 2002.
• Vaidyanathan, H., Gentry, J.D., Weatherman, A., Schwartzbach, S.D. and Petro, T.M. Differential response of the murine IL-12 p35 gene to lipopolysaccharide compared with interferon-gamma and CD40 ligation. Cytokine 16:1-9, 2001.
• Kollet J, Witek C, Gentry JD, Liu X, Schwartzbach SD, and Petro TM. Deletional analysis of the murine IL-12 p35 promoter comparing interferon-ã and LPS stimulation. J. Immunol.167:5653-5663, 2001.
• Jana M, Liu X, Koka S, Ghosh S, Petro T.M., and Pahan K. Ligation of CD40 stimulates the induction of nitric oxide synthase in microglial cells. J. Biol. Chem. 276:44527-44533, 2001.
• Pahan, K, Sheikh, FG, Liu, X, Hilger, S, McKinney, M, and Petro, T.M. Induction of nitric oxide synthase and activation of NF-kB by interleukin-12 p40 in microglial cells. J.Biol. Chem. 276:7899-7905, 2001.
• Al-Salleeh, F.M. and Petro,T.M. TLR3 and TLR7 are involved in expression of IL-23 subunits while TLR3 but not TLR7 is involved in expression of IFN-b by Theiler’s virus-infected RAW264.7 cells. Microbes and Infection 9(11):1384-92, 2007.
• Hause, L., Al-Salleeh, F.M. and Petro, T.M. Expression of IL-27 p28 by Theiler’s virus-infected macrophages depends on TLR3 and TLR7 activation of JNK-MAP-kinases. Antiviral Research 76(2) 159-167, 2007.
• Navarathna DH, Nickerson KW, Duhamel GE, Jerrels TR, Petro TM. Exogenous farnesol interferes with the normal progression of cytokine expression during candidiasis in a mouse model. Infect Immun. 75(8):4006-11, 2007.
• Kollet, J.I. and Petro, T.M. IRF-1 and NF-â p50/cRel bind to distinct regions of the proximal murine IL-12 p35 promoter during costimulation with IFN- â and LPS. Molecular Immunology 43: 623-633, 2006.
• Dahlberg, A., Auble, M.R., and Petro, T.M. Reduced expression of IL-12 p35 by SJL/J macrophages responding to Theiler’s virus infection is associated with constitutive activation of IRF-3. Virology 353:422-432, 2006.