Dr. Natasa Strbo

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Academic Career Length

14Years (2013-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

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16 September 2020 in Frontiers in Immunology

Journal Article

Staphylococcus epidermidis Boosts Innate Immune Response by Activation of Gamma Delta T Cells and Induction of Perforin-2 in Human Skin

Irena Pastar

Katelyn O’nEill

Laura Padula

Cheyanne R. Head

Jamie L. Burgess

Natasa Strbo

Perforin-2 (P-2) is an antimicrobial protein with unique properties to kill intracellular bacteria. Gamma delta (GD) T cells, as the major T cell population in epithelial tissues, play a central role in protective and pathogenic immune responses in the skin. However, the tissue-specific mechanisms that control the innate immune response and the effector functions of GD T cells, especially the cross-talk with commensal organisms, are not very well understood. We hypothesized that the most prevalent skin commensal microorganism,Staphylococcus epidermidis, may play a role in regulating GD T cell-mediated cutaneous responses. We analyzed antimicrobial protein P-2 expression in human skin at a single cell resolution using an amplified fluorescencein situhybridization approach to detect P-2 mRNA in combination with immunophenotyping. We show thatS. epidermidisactivates GD T cells and upregulates P-2 in human skinex vivoin a cell-specific manner. Furthermore, P-2 upregulation followingS. epidermidisstimulation correlates with increased ability of skin cells to kill intracellularStaphylococcus aureus. Our findings are the first to reveal that skin commensal bacteria induce P-2 expression, which may be utilized beneficially to modulate host innate immune responses and protect from skin infections.

15 December 2021 in Journal of Clinical Investigation

Journal Article

Intracellular Staphylococcus aureus triggers pyroptosis and contributes to inhibition of healing due to perforin-2 suppression

Impaired wound healing associated with recurrent Staphylococcus aureus infection and unresolved inflammation are hallmarks of nonhealing diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Perforin-2, an innate immunity molecule against intracellular bacteria, limits cutaneous infection and dissemination of S. aureus in mice. Here, we report the intracellular accumulation of S. aureus in the epidermis of DFUs with no clinical signs of infection due to marked suppression of perforin-2. S. aureus residing within the epidermis of DFUs triggers AIM2 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis. These findings were corroborated in mice lacking perforin-2. The effects of pyroptosis on DFU clinical outcomes were further elucidated in a 4-week longitudinal clinical study in patients with DFUs receiving standard care. Increased AIM2 inflammasome and ASC-pyroptosome coupled with induction of IL-1β were found in nonhealing DFUs compared with healing DFUs. Our findings revealed that perforin-2 suppression, intracellular S. aureus accumulation, and associated induction of pyroptosis contribute to healing inhibition and prolonged inflammation in patients with DFUs.

20 November 2013 in Immunologic Research

Journal Article

Secreted heat shock protein gp96-Ig: next-generation vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases

Natasa Strbo

Arlene Garcia-Soto

Taylor H. Schreiber

Eckhard R. Podack

4 January 2019 in Experimental Dermatology

Journal Article

Single cell analyses reveal specific distribution of anti‐bacterial molecule Perforin‐2 in human skin and its modulation by wounding and Staphylococcus aureus infection

Natasa Strbo

Irena Pastar

Laura Romero

Vivien Chen

Milos Vujanac

Marjana Tomic-Canic

+11

14 August 2020 in Frontiers in Immunology

Journal Article

Perforins Expression by Cutaneous Gamma Delta T Cells

Katelyn O'Neill

Irena Pastar

Marjana Tomic-Canic

Natasa Strbo

Gamma delta (GD) T cells are an unconventional T cell type present in both the epidermis and the dermis of human skin. They are critical to regulating skin inflammation, wound healing, and anti-microbial defense. Similar to CD8+ cytotoxic T cells expressing an alpha beta (AB) TCR, GD T cells have cytolytic capabilities. They play an important role in elimination of cutaneous tumors and virally infected cells and have also been implicated in pathogenicity of several autoimmune diseases. T cell cytotoxicity is associated with the expression of the pore forming protein Perforin. Perforin is an innate immune protein containing a membrane attack complex perforin-like (MACPF) domain and functions by forming pores in the membranes of target cells, which allow granzymes and reactive oxygen species to enter the cells and destroy them. Perforin-2, encoded by the gene MPEG1, is a newly discovered member of this protein family that is critical for clearance of intracellular bacteria. Cutaneous GD T cells express both Perforin and Perforin-2, but many questions remain regarding the role that these proteins play in GD T cell mediated cytotoxicity against tumors and bacterial pathogens. Here, we review what is known about Perforin expression by skin GD T cells and the mechanisms that contribute to Perforin activation.

15 December 2015 in American Journal of Reproductive Immunology

Journal Article

Loss of Intra-Epithelial Endocervical Gamma Delta (GD) 1 T Cells in HIV-Infected Women

Natasa Strbo

Maria L. Alcaide

Laura Romero

Hector Bolivar

Deborah Jones

Margaret A. Fischl

About Me

Dr. Natasa Strbo is a basic and translational immunologist, and assistant professor on a tenure track at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. Dr. Strbo obtained her medical degree (1996) from the Medical School University of Rijeka, Croatia. After completing of internship (1997) at the Center for Emergency Medicine Clinical Hospital Rijeka, Croatia, she became a research fellow and later instructor/teaching assistant at the Department of Physiology and Immunology, Medical School University of Rijeka, Croatia. She obtained her master’s degree in 1999 and the same year started graduate school. During graduate studies, Dr. Strbo spent 2 years as a postdoctoral associate in Dr. Eckhard Podack’s lab at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Miller School of Medicine University of Miami. After graduation, in 2004, she joined Dr. Podack’s lab as a Senior Scientist and continued her research on heat shock protein under his mentorship. She also worked as an NIH volunteer in Dr. Genoveffa Franchini's NCI/NIH lab for two years. In 2013 Dr. Strbo was appointed to Research Assistant Professor at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Miller School of Medicine University of Miami and in 2019 she was approved tenure-earning track at the rank of Assistant Professor. Dr. Strbo received numerous Awards, including the CTSI K2 scholar and Glaser Award.

Dr. Natasa Strbo

Dr. Natasa Strbo

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