Senior Investigator
NIH/NIDCR
Building 30, Room 304
30 Convent Dr. MSC 4352
Bethesda, MD 20892-4352
United States
Dr. Wanjun Chen’s interest is elucidating mechanisms of immune tolerance, focusing on TGF-beta regulation of T-cell immunity and tolerance. Dr. Chen also studies the development and function of regulatory T cells. Dr. Chen and his colleagues investigate the differences between T-cell immunity and tolerance in animal models to understand the pathogenesis of autoimmunity and inflammation, cancer, and infectious disease. Their studies aim to lead to the development of potential immunotherapies for relevant human diseases.
Dr. Chen received his M.D. and M.S. in microbiology and immunology in China. His postdoctoral work was done in immunology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. In 2004, Dr. Chen became investigator and chief of the Mucosal Immunology Unit, Oral Infection and Immunity Branch, at NIDCR. In 2011, he become senior investigator and chief of the Mucosal Immunology Section at NIDCR. Dr. Chen has received numerous awards and honors, including Invited Speaker at the NIH Director’s Seminar Series, the Wang Ying-Lai Memorial Lecture, and the Scientific Achievement Award of the NIH Asian and Pacific Islander American Organization.
- Konkel JE, Zhang D, Zanvit P, Chia C, Zangarle-Murray T, Jin W, Wang S, Chen W. Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling in Regulatory T Cells Controls T Helper-17 Cells and Tissue-Specific Immune Responses. Immunity. 2017 Apr 18;46(4):660-674.
- Chen W, Jin W, Hardegen N, Lei KJ, Li L, Marinos N, McGrady G, Wahl SM. Conversion of peripheral CD4+CD25- naive T cells to CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells by TGF-beta induction of transcription factor Foxp3. J Exp Med. 2003 Dec 15;198(12):1875-86.
- Nakatsukasa H, Zhang D, Maruyama T, Chen H, Cui K, Ishikawa M, Deng L, Zanvit P, Tu E, Jin W, Abbatiello B, Goldberg N, Chen Q, Sun L, Zhao K, Chen W. The DNA-binding inhibitor Id3 regulates IL-9 production in CD4(+) T cells. Nat Immunol. 2015 Oct;16(10):1077-84.
- Liu Y, Zhang P, Li J, Kulkarni AB, Perruche S, Chen W. A critical function for TGF-beta signaling in the development of natural CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Nat Immunol. 2008 Jun;9(6):632-40.
- Konkel JE, Jin W, Abbatiello B, Grainger JR, Chen W. Thymocyte apoptosis drives the intrathymic generation of regulatory T cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jan 28;111(4):E465-73.
- Kasagi S, Zhang P, Che L, Abbatiello B, Maruyama T, Nakatsukasa H, Zanvit P, Jin W, Konkel JE, Chen W. In vivo-generated antigen-specific regulatory T cells treat autoimmunity without compromising antibacterial immune response. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Jun 18;6(241):241ra78.
- Maruyama T, Li J, Vaque JP, Konkel JE, Wang W, Zhang B, Zhang P, Zamarron BF, Yu D, Wu Y, Zhuang Y, Gutkind JS, Chen W. Control of the differentiation of regulatory T cells and T(H)17 cells by the DNA-binding inhibitor Id3. Nat Immunol. 2011 Jan;12(1):86-95.
- Konkel JE, Maruyama T, Carpenter AC, Xiong Y, Zamarron BF, Hall BE, Kulkarni AB, Zhang P, Bosselut R, Chen W. Control of the development of CD8αα+ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes by TGF-β. Nat Immunol. 2011,12(4):312-9.
- Perruche S, Zhang P, Liu Y, Saas P, Bluestone JA, Chen W. CD3-specific antibody-induced immune tolerance involves transforming growth factor-beta from phagocytes digesting apoptotic T cells. Nat Med. 2008 May;14(5):528-35.
- Ghoreschi K, Laurence A, Yang XP, Tato CM, McGeachy MJ, Konkel JE, Ramos HL, Wei L, Davidson TS, Bouladoux N, Grainger JR, Chen Q, Kanno Y, Watford WT, Sun HW, Eberl G, Shevach EM, Belkaid Y, Cua DJ, Chen W, O'Shea JJ. Generation of pathogenic T(H)17 cells in the absence of TGF-β signalling. Nature. 2010 Oct 21;467(7318):967-71.