The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
05/13/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/14/2025 20:32
Physiology Seminar Thursday, May 15th – Dr. Nitesh Shashikanth, Instructor, Physiology
The Department of Physiology
is pleased to announce
Instructor in the Department of Physiology
will present his seminar titled
"Novel therapeutic approaches for mitigating Gastrointestinal Acute Radiation Syndrome (GI-ARS)"
this week on
Thursday, May 15, 2025
3:30 - 5:00 PM
Cancer Research Building Auditorium, Room 114
Refreshments will be provided.
Summary:
Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is acute illness caused by high ionizing radiation exposure in a short period of time, like nuclear accidents. In GI-ARS, the acute exposure to radiation (>6 Gy) induces GI toxicity resulting in infection, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance with death occurring within 2 weeks. It is therefore necessary to develop therapeutics that can effectively halt or reverse the course of GI-ARS, and currently , there are none . In the GI tract, high radiation exposure involves intestinal epithelial tight junction (TJ) disruption, barrier dysfunction, microbiota dysbiosis, and endotoxemia . Our research focuses on multiple stages of host-microbiome relationships that can be targeted to develop therapeutics. This talk will summarize the efforts to reverse/inhibit gut radiation injury two ways : 1) the role of Lactobacilli as therapeutic probiotics, and 2) I nhibition of downstream Reactive oxygen Species (ROS ) signaling mechanisms for therapeutic potential .
Brief Bio:
Dr. Nitesh Shashikanth is a Faculty Instructor in the Department of Physiology working with Prof. RK Rao at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. With a multidisciplinary background in molecular and cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry, and biophysics, his work also integrates an engineer's perspective into fundamental biological research. His doctoral studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign under Prof. Deborah Leckband uncovered a novel, allosteric regulation of Cadherin interactions, redefining the understanding of cell-cell adhesion. For postdoctoral training at BWH, Harvard Medical School, under Dr. Jerrold Turner, he pioneered the concept of "inter-claudin interference," demonstrating that certain claudins can competitively disrupt others' function, a finding with significant implications for tight junction function. He also co-discovered the role of claudin-2 in inflammatory bowel disease, showing its modulation directly impacts disease severity. Dr. Shashikanth has published his research in several prestigious journals as first and co-first author, including Nature Communications, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Journal of Biological Chemistry among others, apart from several co-authorships. He has actively peer reviewed for at least 20 different journals. Dr Shashikanth's work was supported by a Crohn's and Colitis Foundation fellowship and a Pilot grant from the Harvard Digestive Diseases Center.
As an Instructor, Dr. Shashikanth focuses on the interplay between gut epithelial tight junctions, the microbiota, and immune responses in both health and disease. His current work under Dr Rao's guidance aims to uncover novel therapeutic targets for conditions such as radiation enterocolitis and GI-ARS on one end and the role of chronic alcoholism in the gut-liver axis, on the other.
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