Ellen S. Vitetta, Ph.D.
Professor and Director, Cancer Immunology Center
Profess of Microbiology

Office: 214-648-1200
Fax:214-648-1204
Email: ellen.vitetta@utsouthwestern.edu

Our research efforts are focused in two areas:  The first addresses the development of immunotoxins (ITs) and monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) for the therapy of B cell lymphoma, graft versus host diseases (GVHD), breast cancer and AIDS.  We have generated chimeric molecules containing Mabs and chemically modified ricin A chain.  These ITs have been tested in vitro, in mice with murine or human tumors, and more recently in humans with advanced lymphoma, myeloma, and GVHD.  We are studying their mode of action, ways to improve their potency, and strategies to decrease their non-specific toxicity and immunogenicity in vivo.  We are also using ITs to target T cells which harvor HIV.  Finally, we have also generated new Mab constructs which signal cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in tumor cells.  These are being tested in mice with the long-term goal of using them in humans.  Our second area of research is concerned with the immunologic mechanisms involved in tumor dormancy and escapee from dormancy.  Using a mouse model of B cell lymphoma, we are studying the nature of the host mechanisms and cellular mutations involved in the escape from dormancy. 

Selected Publications:

Smallshaw, J.E., Ghetie, V., Baluna, R., Fulmer, J.R., Trahan, L.L., Ghetie, M-A., Rizo, J. and Vitetta, E.S.  Genetic Enginerring of an Immunotoxin to Eliminate Its Ability to Induce Pulmonary Vascular Leak in Mice.  Nature Biotechnology, 21:387-397,2003.

Vitetta, E.S., Coleman, E., Ghetie, M-A., Ghetie, V., Michalek, J., Pop, L.M., Smallshaw, J.E. and Spiridon, C.  Immunotherapy. In: Fundamental Immunology, 5th Edition, ed: W. Paul, Lippincott, Williams and Wilkens, New York, Chapter 50, pp-1621-1659,2003.

Meng, R., Smallshaw, J.E., Pop, L.M., Yen, M., Liu, X., Le, L., Ghetie, M-A., Vitetta, E.S., Ghetie, V.  The evaluation of recombinant, chimeric, tetravalent antihuman CD22 antibodies.  Clinical Cancer Research, 10:1274-1281,2004.

Ghetie, M-A., Marches, R., Kufert, S., Vitetta, E.S.  The association of CD19 and P-Glycoprotein on the surface of multidrug resistant human B lymphoma cells may result in anti-CD19-mediated chemosensitization. Blood, in press, 2004.

Saavedra-Lozano, J., Cao, Y., Callison, J., Sarode, R., Sodora, D., Edgar, J., Hatfield, J., Picker, L., Peterson, D., Ramillo, O., Vitetta, E.S.  An anti-CD45RO immunotoxin kills HIV-latently infected cells from individuals on HAART with little effect on CD8 memory. PNAS. 101:2494-2499,2004