Doster Lab

About 

The Doster lab is focused on defining how bacteria such as Group B Streptococcus (GBS) causes invasive infections during pregnancy that lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes like preterm birth, chorioamnionitis (infection of the fetal membranes surrounding the infant), and neonatal sepsis. To cause invasive disease during pregnancy, GBS must first colonize the vaginal epithelium, overcoming pressures from the host immune system and the vaginal microbiota. Our current projects aim to understand colonization as the initial stage of GBS pathogenesis. The lab is particularly interested in understanding how metabolic syndromes including diabetes mellitus and zinc deficiency increase risk for vaginal colonization and perinatal infections. We use a variety of techniques to investigate important host-pathogen interactions within the female reproductive tract including in vitro cell culture models, high-resolution microscopy techniques, and animal models to understand the factors necessary for GBS to form biofilms, colonize epithelial surfaces, and evade immune responses on the way to causing perinatal infections which result in significant morbidity and mortality to mothers and infants. 

Key Research Areas

• Host-pathogen interactions
• Microbe-microbe interactions within the female reproductive tract
• Pregnancy and perinatal infections
• Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus)
• Biofilms
• Bacterial colonization of mucosal surfaces
• Innate immune responses to bacterial pathogens
• High resolution microscopy imaging of the host-pathogen interface
• Clinical bacterial infections 

Team 

• Ryan S Doster, MD, PhD, Principle Investigator, MD - Indiana University School of Medicine 2009, PhD - Vanderbilt University, 2019

• Nagwa El-Baz, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, PhD – University of Louisville 2022

• Chris Farrell, MS, M&I PhD Candidate, 2022

• Sierra Ginocchio, M&I PhD Student, 2023

Recent Publications

• Rogers LM, Huggins M, Doster RS, Omage JI, Gaddy JA, Eastman A, Aronoff DM. Impact of Metabolic Stress on BeWo Syncytiotrophoblast Function. Chembiochem. 2023 Oct 6:e202300410.  doi: 10.1002/cbic.202300410. PMID: 37800606.
• Callahan SM, Hancock TJ, Doster RS, Parker CB, Wakim ME, Gaddy JA, Johnson JG. A secreted sirtuin from Campylobacter jejuni contributes to neutrophil activation and intestinal inflammation during infection. Sci Adv. 2023 Aug 11;9(32):eade2693. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ade2693. Epub 2023 Aug 11. PMID: 37566649; PMCID: PMC10421069.
• Lu J, Moore RE, Spicer SK, Doster RS, Guevara MA, Francis JD, Noble KN, Rogers LM, Talbert JA, Korir ML, Townsend SD, Aronoff DM, Manning SD, Gaddy JA. Streptococcus agalactiae npx is required for survival in human placental macrophages and full virulence in a model of ascending vaginal infection during pregnancy. mBio. 2022 Nov 21;13(6):e0287022. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02870-22. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36409087; PMCID: PMC9765263.
• Korir M, Doster RS, Lu J, Guevara M, Spicer S, Moore R, Francis J, Rogers LM, Haley K, Blackman A, Noble K, Eastman A, Williams J, Damo S, Boyd K, Townsend S, Serezani CH, Aronoff DM, Manning SM, Gaddy JA. Streptococcus agalactiae cadD promotes intracellular survival in macrophages and ascending infection during pregnancy. Nature Communications. 2022 Sep 14;13(1):5392. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-32916-7. PMID: 36104331; PMCID: PMC9474517.
• Nguyen LM, Omage JI, Noble K, McNew KL, Moore DJ, Aronoff DM, Doster RS. Group B streptococcal infection of the genitourinary tract in pregnant and non-pregnant patients with diabetes mellitus: an immunocompromised host or something more? Am J Reprod Immunol. 2021 Dec;86(6):e13501.doi: 10.1111/aji.13501. Epub 2021 Oct 19. PMID: 34570418; PMCID: PMC8668237.
• Noble K, Lu J, Guevara MA, Doster RS, Chambers SA, Rogers LM, Moore RE, Spicer SK, Eastman AJ, Francis JD, Manning SD, Rajagopal L, Aronoff DM, Townsend SD, Gaddy JA. Group B Streptococcus cpsE Is Required for Serotype V Capsule Production and Aids in Biofilm Formation and Ascending Infection of the Reproductive Tract during Pregnancy. ACS Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 2. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.1c00182. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34076405; PMCID: PMC8588567.
• Lu J, Francis JD, Guevara MA, Moore RE, Chambers SA, Doster RS, Eastman AJ, Rogers LM, Noble KN, Manning SD, Damo SM, Aronoff DM, Townsend SD, Gaddy JA. Antibacterial and Anti-biofilm Activity of the Human Breast Milk Glycoprotein Lactoferrin against Group B Streptococcus. Chembiochem. 2021 Jun 15;22(12):2124-2133. doi: 10.1002/cbic.202100016. Epub 2021 Mar 23. PMID: 33755306; PMCID: PMC8254657. 

A full list of Doster Lab publications may be found here