Greice Krautz-Peterson

Dr. Greice Krautz-Peterson is a Research Associate who received her PhD in Biochemistry and Immunology at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. During her PhD, in collaborative work at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, she identified and expressed Trypanosoma cruzi antigens for evaluating effective treatment of patients with Chagas' disease. In 2004 and 2005, she worked with the research group on Diarrheagenic E. coli/HUS associated diseases at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and identified a new intracellular mechanism of shiga toxin neutralization by a human monoclonal antibody; she also characterized antibiotics that increase or inhibit toxin production. Greice joined the Molecular Helminthology lab in 2006 to explore the function of selected genes, in the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni, using RNA-mediated interference (RNAi). Currently she is investigating the gene function of molecules expressed on the schistosome surface that are likely to protect the parasite against the host’s immune attack. She is also exploiting the capability of Clostridium difficile toxins to efficiently deliver an intracellular therapeutic agent that revert botulinum neurointoxication. Her most recent publications are:

  1. Krautz-Peterson G, Simoes M, Faghiri Z, Ndegwa D, Oliveira G, Shoemaker CB, Skelly PJ. 2010. Suppressing glucose transporter gene expression in schistosomes impairs parasite feeding and decreases survival in the mammalian host. PLoS Pathog. Jun 3:6(6).
  2. Krautz-Peterson G, D. Ndegwa, K. Vasquez, H. Korideck, J. Zhang, J.D. Peterson, and P.J. Skelly. 2009. Imaging schistosomes in vivo. FASEB J. Aug; 23: 2673-80.
  3. Krautz-Peterson, G., R. Bhardwaj, Faghiri, Z., C.A. Tararam, and P.J. Skelly. 2009. RNA interference in schistosomes: machinery and methodology. Parasitol. Sep; 21:1-11.
  4. Zhang, Q., A. Donohue-Rolfe, G. Krautz-Peterson, M. Sevo, N. Parry, C. Abeijon, and S. Tzipori. 2009. Gnotobiotic piglet infection model for evaluating the safe use of antibiotics against Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection. J Infect Dis. Feb; 199:1-8.
  5. Krautz-Peterson G., S. Chapman-Bonofiglio, K. Boisvert, H. Feng, I.M. Herman, S. Tzipori, and A.S. Sheoran. 2008. Intracellular neutralization of Shiga toxin 2 by an A subunit-specific human monoclonal antibody Infect Immun. May; 76(5):1931-9.
  6. Krautz-Peterson G., and P.J. Skelly. 2008. Schistosome asparaginyl endopeptidase (legumain) is not essential for cathepsin B1 activation in vivo. Mol Biochem Parasitol. May;159(1):54-8.
  7. Krautz-Peterson G., and P.J. Skelly. 2008. Schistosoma mansoni: The dicer gene and its expression. Exp Parasitol. Jan; 118(1):122-8.