Natalia

Giltiay

PhD

Education & Training: 

M.S., Molecular Biology, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria (1994-2000)

PhD, Immunology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria (2000-2005)

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH (2005-2010)

Senior Fellow/Acting Instructor, Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (2010-2014)

Research Interests: 

Dr. Giltiay's research aims to better understand the role of B lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Her group is exploring the role of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), B cell-activating factor (BAFF), and type I IFNs in the selection and activation of autoreactive B cells. Recent work in her Lab has shown a link between TLR7 gene polymorphism, the expansion and activation of newly-formed (transitional) B cells, and the production of anti-RNA/SmRNP Abs in SLE patients. 

Another area of her research is focused on understanding the role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in regulating T-cell responses. Dr. Giltiay is studying how signaling downstream of the human pDC-specific C-type lectin receptor BDCA2 inhibits the production of type I IFNs and affects DCs’ functions. The Lab is developing new methods for inducing regulatory T cell (Treg) responses and promoting immunological tolerance by “targeting” antigens to pDCs using novel anti-BDCA2 antibodies.   

PubMed: 

PubMed Bibliography

Publications: 

Selected-

Marken J, Muralidharan S, Giltiay NV. Anti-CD40 antibody KPL-404 inhibits T cell-mediated activation of B cells from healthy donors and autoimmune patients. Arthritis Res Ther. 2021 Jan 6;23(1):5. doi: 10.1186/s13075-020-02372-z. PMID: 33407802; PMCID: PMC7789801.

Giltiay NV, Giordano D, Clark EA. The Plasticity of Newly Formed B Cells. J Immunol. 2019 Dec 15;203(12):3095-3104. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900928. PMID: 31818922; PMCID: PMC6961804.

Giltiay NV, Giordano D, Clark EA. The Plasticity of Newly Formed B Cells. J Immunol. 2019 Dec 15;203(12):3095-3104. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900928. PMID: 31818922

Wang T, Marken J, Chen J, Tran VB, Li QZ, Li M, Cerosaletti K, Elkon KB, Zeng X, Giltiay NV. High TLR7 Expression Drives the Expansion of CD19+CD24hiCD38hi Transitional B Cells and Autoantibody Production in SLE Patients. Front Immunol. 2019 Jun 4;10:1243. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01243. eCollection 2019. PMID: 31231380

Giltiay NV, Shu GL, Shock A, Clark EA. Targeting CD22 with the monoclonal antibody epratuzumab modulates human B-cell maturation and cytokine production in response to Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling. Arthritis Res Ther. 2017 May 15;19(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s13075-017-1284-2. PMID: 28506291

*Chappell CP, *Giltiay NV, Draves KE, Chen C, Hayden-Ledbetter MS, Shlomchik MJ, Kaplan DH, Clark EA. Targeting antigens through blood dendritic cell antigen 2 on plasmacytoid dendritic cells promotes immunologic tolerance. J Immunol. 2014 Jun 15;192(12):5789-5801. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1303259. Epub 2014 May 14.  PMID: 24829416 (*equal contribution)

Giltiay NV, Chappell CP, Sun X, Kolhatkar N, Teal TH, Wiedeman AE, Kim J, Tanaka L, Buechler MB, Hamerman JA, Imanishi-Kari T, Clark EA, Elkon KB. Overexpression of TLR7 promotes cell-intrinsic expansion and autoantibody production by transitional T1 B cells. J Exp Med. 2013 Nov 18;210(12):2773-89. doi: 10.1084/jem.20122798. Epub 2013 Oct 21. PMID: 24145511

Giltiay NV, Lu Y, Cullen JL, Jørgensen TN, Shlomchik MJ, Li X. Spontaneous loss of tolerance of autoreactive B cells in Act1-deficient rheumatoid factor transgenic mice. J Immunol. 2013 Sep 1;191(5):2155-63. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1300152. Epub 2013 Jul 31. PMID: 23904159

Giltiay NV, Chappell CP, Clark EA. B-cell selection and the development of autoantibodies. Arthritis Res Ther. 2012;14 Suppl 4:S1. doi: 10.1186/ar3918. Epub 2012 Nov 2. Review. PMID: 23281837

Giltiay NV, Lu Y, Allman D, Jørgensen TN, Li X. The adaptor molecule Act1 regulates BAFF responsiveness and self-reactive B cell selection during transitional B cell maturation. J Immunol. 2010 Jul 1;185(1):99-109. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.0903312. Epub 2010 Jun 11. PMID: 2054311

Liu C, Qian W, Qian Y, Giltiay NV, Lu Y, Swaidani S, Misra S, Deng L, Chen ZJ, Li X. Act1, a U-box E3 ubiquitin ligase for IL-17 signaling. Sci Signal. 2009 Oct 13;2(92):ra63. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.2000382. Erratum in: Sci Signal. 2010;3(121):er3. PMID: 19825828