Work Address:
8700 Beverly Blvd. Davis 5090 Los Angeles, CA 90048 UNITED STATES
Fax Number:
310-423-7308
Work Phone Number:
(310) 423-7303
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Dr. Maria G Castro's group is investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain tumor regression and immunological long term memory in pre-clinical models of glioblastoma (GBM). Her group has uncovered the role of plasmocitoid dendritic cells (pDC) in mediating tumor regression and initiating both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune response against intracranial tumors. Dr. Castro's lab is currently working with knock out mice to establish the phenotype of immune cells responsible for long term memory in the syngeneic GBM models. Dr. Castro's group is establishing gutless and lentivirus vectors with the aim of imaging in vivo and non-invasively the trafficking of activated immune cells in and out of the central nervous system.
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Dr. Castro is Co-Director of the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Castro is also Professor of Medicine and Professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr Castro has recently been awarded the Medallion's Group Endowed Chair in Gene Therapeutics at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She currently serves as a permanent member and consultant at a study section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. Dr Castro previously served as Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Manchester in England. She was a member of the Neuroscience Panel (Study Section) of the Welcome Trust, UK and is an expert member on the Neuroscience Panel for Evaluators of the European Commission. Dr. Castro is the recipient of RO-1 and R0-3 grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop novel gene therapy approaches to treat chronic neurodegenerative brain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and brain cancer. Dr Castro's research program focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms which mediate brain tumor regression in response to immune-stimulatory and cytotoxic gene therapeutics. Dr Castro has published over 200 research articles, reviews and book chapters in high impact peer-reviewed journals, e.g. Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Medicine USA, The Journal of Experimental Medicine, The Journal of Virology, The Journal of Neuroscience, and Cancer Research amongst many others. Dr Castro serves on the editorial boards of Gene Therapy, Current Gene Therapy, Journal of Endocrinology, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology and Journal of Neuromolecular Medicine.
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Muhammad AKM, Candolfi M, King GD, Foulad D, Yagiz K, Mineharu Y, Kroeger K, Treuer KA, Nichols S, Sanderson NS, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG. Anti-glioma immunological memory in response to conditional cytotoxic/immune-stimulatory gene therapy: humoral and cellular immunity lead to tumor regression.
Clinical Cancer Research
2009; In Press:
.
Larocque Daniel, Sanderson Nicholas S R, Bergeron Josée, Curtin James F, Girton Joe, Wibowo Mia, Bondale Niyati, Kroeger Kurt M, Yang Jieping, Lacayo Liliana M, Reyes Kevin C, Farrokhi Catherine, Pechnick Robert N, Castro Maria G, Lowenstein Pedro R Exogenous fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand overrides brain immune
privilege and facilitates recognition of a neo-antigen without causing
autoimmune neuropathology..
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
2010; 107(32):
14443-8.
Candolfi M, Yagiz K, Foulad D, Alzadeh G, Tesarfreund M, Muhammad AKM, Puntel M, Kroeger KM, Liu C, Lee S, Curtin JF, King G, Lerner J, Sato K, Mineharu Y, Xiong W, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG Release of HMGB1 in response to pro-apoptotic glioma killing strategies: efficacy and neurotoxicity.
Clinical Cancer Research.
2009; 15(13):
4401-4414.
Candolfi Marianela, Yagiz Kader, Foulad David, Alzadeh Gabrielle E, Tesarfreund Matthew, Muhammad A K M Ghulam, Puntel Mariana, Kroeger Kurt M, Liu Chunyan, Lee Sharon, Curtin James F, King Gwendalyn D, Lerner Jonathan, Sato Katsuaki, Mineharu Yohei, Xiong Weidong, Lowenstein Pedro R, Castro Maria G Release of HMGB1 in response to proapoptotic glioma killing
strategies: efficacy and neurotoxicity..
Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
2009; 15(13):
4401-14.
Curtin JF, Liu N, Candolfi M, Xiong W, Assi H, Yagiz K, Edwards MR, Michelsen KS, Kroeger KM, Liu C, Muhammad AKM, Clark MC, Arditi M, Comin-Anduix B, Ribas A, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG HMGB1 mediates endogenous TLR2 activation and brain tumor regression..
PLoS Medicine.
2009; 6(1):
e10.
King GD, Muhammad AK, Xiong W, Kroeger KM, Puntel M, Larocque D, Palmer D, Ng P, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG High-Capacity adenoviral vector-mediated 1 anti-glioma gene therapy in the presence of systemic anti-adenovirus immunity.
Journal of Virology.
2008; 82(9):
4680-4684.
Curtin James F, Candolfi Marianela, Fakhouri Tamer M, Liu Chunyan, Alden Anderson, Edwards Matthew, Lowenstein Pedro R, Castro Maria G Treg depletion inhibits efficacy of cancer immunotherapy: implications
for clinical trials..
PloS one.
2008; 3(4):
e1983.
Curtin JF, King GD, Barcia C, Liu C, Hubert FX, Guillonneau C, Josien R, Anegon I, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG. Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand recruits plasmacytoid dendritic cells to the brain..
Journal of Immunology.
2006; 176(6):
3566-77.
Ali S, King GD, Curtin JF, Candolfi M, Xiong W, Liu C, Puntel M, Cheng Q, Prieto J, Ribas A, Kupiec-Weglinski J, van Rooijen N, Lassmann H, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG. Combined immunostimulation and conditional cytotoxic gene therapy provide long-term survival in a large glioma model..
Cancer Research.
2005; 65(16):
7194-204.
Dewey RA, Morrissey G, Cowsill C, Stone D, Dodd NJF, Bolognani F, Southgate TD, Klatzmann D, Castro MG, Lowenstein PR. Chronic brain inflammation and persistent HSV1-TK expression in survivors of syngeneic glioma treated by adenovirus-mediated gene therapy: Implications for clinical trials..
Nature Medicine.
1999; 5(11):
1256-1263.
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