Michael Shurin, MD, PhD

Division Director, Clinical Immunopathology, Professor of Pathology

Dr. Shurin is the Director of the Division of Clinical Immunopathology.

Clinical Expertise

Dr. Shurin's clinical duties include the everyday evaluation of results of numerous blood tests, teaching Pathology residents and medical students, and dealing with different administrative issues at the Division of Clinical Immunopathology. Immunodiagnostic tests include a number of ELISA, RIA, IF, electrophoresis, Western blot tests for autoimmune, infectious, allergic and immunoproliferative diseases.

Certifications

Diplomat, American Board of Medical Laboratory Immunology (ABMLI)

Specialties

Clinical immunology and Immunopathology

Research Interests

Our research program focuses on the mechanisms of cellular and molecular interactions in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer is the result of complex interactions between the malignant cells and the cells that are present in the surrounding environment. The elements of the tumor microenvironment can collectively exert both stimulatory and inhibitory pressures on the proliferative, angiogenic and immunomodulating potential of cancerous cells, as well as their ability to spread and metastasize. Thus, insights into the mechanisms regulating host responses to growing tumors are essential for assessing relative risks and improving the therapeutic index for novel therapies associated with the modulation of the tumor microenvironment. Tumor-mediated immune suppression and tolerance remains a key obstacle to the safe and efficacious induction of antitumor immunity by immunotherapeutic modalities. Myeloid regulatory cells (MRC), a heterogeneous group of cells that accumulate in tumor-bearing hosts, have been proven to play a critical role in tumor growth and spreading, as well as in limiting the efficacy of several cancer treatment programs, including immunotherapy and angiogenic inhibitors. Our long-term goal is to develop a feasible and effective therapeutic approach based on a combination of pharmacological inhibition of specific MRC pathways and recovery/boosting of tumor specific immune responses.

Although an important role of MRC in tumor-associated immune suppression has been established in recent years, the nature of specific MRC populations and the inter-differentiation pathways of MRC remain largely obscure. For instance, despite the fact that cross-talk between myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and macrophages and MDSC differentiation into tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) in the tumor environment have been addressed, the relationship between MDSC and recently described suppressor (regulatory) dendritic cells (DC) is unclear. The nature of suppressor DC in cancer, the mechanisms of their polarization and their immunosuppressive function are not well characterized. With the exception of MDSC, clinical approaches to control appearance and differentiation of MRC populations are not defined. The ambiguous nature of the biological roles of, and the relationship between, different myeloid cell subsets within the tumor site limits our understanding of the biology of tumor progression and the development of targeted therapeutics. Our major hypothesis is that the tumor microenvironment differentially controls emergence of specific MRC populations which, however, can be redirected by molecular-targeted therapy to support recovery of the antitumor immunity and improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Our objectives are to determine the mechanisms of MRC differentiation as directed by specific premalignant and tumor environment and develop MRC molecular-targeted strategies that generate efficient antitumor immunity in vivo. In addition, we initiated studies that address another key question about the development of specific immunological microenvironment in cancer (the tumor immunoenvironment): Modulation of premalignant/malignant microenvironment by environmental agents. Specifically, we investigate how airborne nanomaterials affect the development of lung cancer.

NIH Research

View Dr. Shurin's NIH RePORT on nih.gov

Representative Publications

View Dr. Shurin's publications on PubMed

Rencet Peer-Reviewed Articles

  • Silva G.O., Michael Z.P., Bian L., Shurin G.V., Mulato M., Shurin M.R., Star A. Nanoelectronic discrimination of non-malignant and malignant cells using Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors. ACS Sensors, 2(8):1128-1132, 2017.
  • Zakiryanova G., Kustova E., Urazalieva N., Amirbekov A., Baimuchametov E., Nakisbekov N., Shurin M. Alterations of oncogenes expression in NK cells in patients with cancer. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease, 5(4):493-502, 2017. doi: 10.1002/iid3.179.
  • Khaliullin T.O., Kisin E.R., Murray A.R., Yanamala N., Shurin M.R., Gutkin D.W., Fatkhutdinova L.M., Kagan V.K., Shvedova A.A. Mediation of the Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes induced pulmonary fibrogenic response by osteopontin and TGF-β1. Exper. Lung Res., 43(8):311-326, 2017. doi: 10.1080/01902148.2017.1377783.
  • Park E.J., Khaliullin T.O., Shurin M.R., Kisin E.R., Yanamala N., Fadeel B., Chang J., Shvedova A.A. Fibrous Nanocellulose, Crystalline Nanocellulose, Carbon Nanotubes and Crocidolite Asbestos Elicit Disparate Immune Responses upon Pharyngeal Aspiration in Mice. J. Immunotoxicol. 15(1):12-23, 2017. doi: 10.1080/1547691X.2017.1414339.
  • Yanamala N., Kisin E.R., Gutkin D.W., Shurin M.R., Harper M., Shvedova A.A. Characterization of pulmonary responses in mice to asbestos/asbestiform fibers using gene expression profiles. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health, 81(4):60-79, 2018. doi: 10.1080/15287394.2017.1408201.
  • Gannon J.M., Besch A., Thakur T., Khurana N., Shurin M.R., Shurin G.V., Chengappa K.N.R. Race and Gender Differences in S100b and CRP levels in Persons with Schizophrenia. 2018. Submitted.
  • Zhou Y., Shurin G.V., Zhong H., Bunimovich Y., Han B., Shurin M.R. Peripheral neuroglial Schwann cells augment tumor cell spreading and metastasis. Submitted.
  • Burkert S.C., Shurin G.V., White D.L., Kagan V.E., Shurin M.R., Star A. Targeting myeloid regulators by paclitaxel-loaded enzymatically degradable nanocups. Submitted.
  • Jones T.E., Shurin M.R., Wheeler S. Monoclonal gammopathy in a child with Ataxia-Telangectasia: A case report, review of the literature, and preliminary differential diagnosis. Annals of Clinical Case Reports (Special Pathology Issue), 2018, in press.

Reviews

  • Alenius H., Shurin M.R., Shurin G.V., Beezhold D., Shvedova A.A. Engineered Nanomaterials - Adverse effects on Human Health - Respiratory System, Part Two: Allergy and Asthma. In: Adverse Effects of Engineered Nanomaterials: Exposure, Toxicology, and Impact on Human Health, Second Edition. Editors: B.Fadeel, A.Pietroiusti, A.Shvedova. Elsevier Publ., San Diego, USA, pp. 243-253, March 2017. (ISBN: 9780128091999)
  • Anani W., Shurin M.R. Targeting myeloid-derived suppressor cells in cancer. In: Tumor Immune Microenvironment in Cancer Progression and Cancer Therapy. P.Kalinski (Editor). Adv Exp Med Biol. V.1036. Springer, 2017, Pages 105-128. (ISBN: 978-3-319-67575-6)
  • Gutkin D.W., Shurin M.R. Tumor-infiltrating immune cells of myeloid origin. In: Cancer Immunotherapy Principles and Practice, L.H. Butterfield, H.L. Kaufman, and F.M. Marincola (Editors), Springer, N.Y., 2017, pp.427-448. (ISBN:9781620700976)
  • Bunimovich Y.L., Keskinov A.A., Shurin G.V., Shurin M.R. Schwann cells - A new player in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, 66(8):959-968, 2017.
  • Dobrovolskaia M.A., Shurin M.R., Kagan V., Shvedova A.A. Ins and outs in environmental and occupational safety studies of asthma and engineered nanomaterials. ACS Nano, 11(8):7565-7571, 2017.
  • Wheeler S.E., Shurin M.R. Alpha, beta, gamma of serum proteins: A long history of successfully resolved problems. J Immunopathology, 1(1):1-3, 2017.
  • Dobrovolskaia M.A., Shurin M.R., Shvedova A.A. Current understanding of interactions between nanoparticles and the immune system. In: "Immune Effects of Biopharmaceuticals and Nanomedicines". Bawa R., Szebeni J., Webster T.J., Audette G.F. (Eds.), volume 3, Pan Stanford Publishing, CRC Press, Singapore, Feb 2018, in press. (ISBN 9789814774529)
  • Zakiryanova GK., Wheeler S.E., Shurin M.R. Oncogenes in immune cells as potential therapeutic targets. ImmunoTargets Therapy, 7:1-8, 2018.

Books

  • "Immune-Mediated Diseases: From Theory to Therapy", M.R.Shurin & Y.S.Smolkin (Eds). 458 pages. Springer Publ., N.Y., 2007. (ISBN 978-0-387-72004-3 (print book))
  • "Dendritic Cells in Cancer", M.R.Shurin & R.Salter (Eds). 396 pages. Springer Publ., N.Y., 2009. (ISBN 978-0-387-88611-4 (ebook); ISBN 978-0-387-88610-7 (print book))
    (Since its online publication on February 26, 2009, there has been a total of 16,508 chapter downloads for this eBook version on SpringerLink; data for April 2018)
  • "The Tumor ImmunoEnvironment", M.R.Shurin, V.Umansky, A.Malyguine (Eds), 745 pages. Springer Publ., N.Y., 2013. (ISBN 978-94-007-6217-6 (ebook); ISBN 978-94-007-6216-9 (print book))
    (Since its online publication on March 19, 2013, there has been a total of 58,102 chapter downloads for this eBook version on SpringerLink; data for April 2018) (Top 25% most downloaded eBooks in the relevant Springer eBook Collection in 2015-2016-2017.)
  • "Infection and Cancer: Bi-Directorial Interactions", M.R.Shurin, Y.Thanavala, N.Ismail (Eds). 408 pages. Springer Publ., NY, 2015. (ISBN 978-3-319-20668-4)