Simon M Barratt-Boyes

Contributions to Public Health

• Antibody and vaccine-mediated prevention of severe H5N1 influenza in a macaque model: Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus has spread amongst wild birds and mammals worldwide and poses a real threat to global health. In collaboration with Doug Reed of the Center for Vaccine Research, we developed an aerosol-based model of avian H5N1 influenza in macaques. This model represents a major advance as it recapitulates the severe disease seen in humans. We are now using this translational model to test the efficacy of candidate vaccines and broadly neutralizing antibodies to prevent severe H5N1 influenza.
  • Corry J, Kettenburg K, Upadhyay A, Wallace M, Marti MM, Wonderlich ER, Bissel SJ, Goss K, Sturgeon TJ, Watkins SC, Reed DS, Bosinger S, Barratt-Boyes SM (2022). Infiltration of inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils and widespread pyroptosis in lung drive influenza lethality in nonhuman primates. PLoS Pathogens; 18(3): e1010395. PMID: 35271686.
  • Kanekiyo M, Gillespie RA, Midgett M, O’Malley KJ, Williams C, Moin SM, Wallace M, Treaster L, Cooper K, Syeda H, Kettenburg G, Rannulu H, Schmer T, Ortiz L, Castanha PS, Corry J, Xia M, Olsen E, Perez D, Yun G, Graham BS, Barratt-Boyes SM, Reed DS (2023). Refined semi-lethal aerosol H5N1 influenza model in cynomolgus macaques for evaluation of medical countermeasures. iScience: 26(10):107830
• Immunology of dengue and Zika virus infection in human skin: Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne virus infection of humans and in recent years, under the effects of climate change, has wreaked havoc in Brazil and is threatening the USA. We developed an explant model of dengue virus infection in human skin and were the first to report that antibody-dependent enhancement of infection readily occurs at the site of virus transmission. We are now exploring the effects of genetic ancestry on dengue in skin.
  • Duangkhae P, Erdos G, Ryman KD, Watkins SC, Falo LD Jr, Marques ETA Jr, Barratt-Boyes SM. (2017). Interplay between keratinocytes and myeloid cells drives dengue virus spread in human skin. J Invest Dermatol; 138: 618-626. PMID: 29106931
  • Castanha PM, Erdos G, Watkins SC, Falo LD Jr, Marques ET, Barratt-Boyes SM. (2020). Reciprocal immune enhancement of dengue and Zika virus infections in human skin. JCI Insight; e133653. PMCID: PMC7098780
• Immunology and novel approaches to prevention and therapy of SARS-CoV-2 infection: We have established several collaborations with groups at Pitt and internationally to explore mechanisms of immunopathogenesis of COVID-19 and to evaluate novel antibody- and small molecule-based approaches to prevent infection and disease.
  • Castanha PMS, Tuttle DJ, Kitsios GD, Jacobs JL, Braga-Neto U, Duespohl M, Rathod S, Marti MM, Wheeler S, Naqvi A, Staines B, Mellors J, Morris A, McVerry BJ, Shah F, Schaefer C, Macatangay BJC, Methe B, Fernandez CA, Barratt-Boyes SM, Burke D, Marques ETA. (2022). Contribution of coronavirus-specific immunoglobulin G responses to complement overactivation in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019. J Infectious Diseases; 226(5): 766-777. PMID: 35267024.
  • Mannar D, Saville JW, Sun Z, Zhu X, Marti MM, Srivastava AA, Berezuk AM, Zhou S, Tuttle KS, Sobolewski MD, Kim A, Treat BR, Castanha PM, Jacobs JL, Barratt-Boyes SM, Mellors JW, Dimitrov DS, Li W, Subramaniam S. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern: Spike protein mutational analysis and epitope for broad neutralization. Nature Communication; 13(1): 4696. PMID: 35982054.
• Impact of SIV and SARS-CoV-2 infection on dendritic cells and macrophages in macaques: Dendritic cells and macrophages are key myeloid cells that help control infections. My group has extensively described DC subsets in nonhuman primates and studied the impact of SIV infection on DC and macrophages. We have collaborated with the Bosinger group at Emory to describe the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on lung myeloid cells in macaques.
  • Swan ZD, Wonderlich ER & Barratt-Boyes SM (2016). Macrophage accumulation in gut mucosa differentiates AIDS from chronic SIV infection in rhesus macaques. Eur J Immunol; 46: 446-454. PMID: 26549608
  • Upadhyay AA, Hoang TN, Pino M, Boddapati AK, Viox EG, Lee MYH, Corry J, Strongin Z, Cowan DA, Beagle EN, Horton TR, Hamilton S, Aoued H, Harper JL, Nguyen K, Pellegrini KL, Tharp GK, Piantadosi A, Levit RD, Amara RR, Barratt-Boyes SM, Rineiro SP, Sekaly RP, Vanderford TH, Schinazi RF, Paiardini K, Bosinger SE (2023). TREM2+ and interstitial-like macrophages orchestrate airway inflammation in SARS-CoV-2 infection in rhesus macaques. Nat Commun; 14: 1914. PMCID: PMC10078029.