Niki Moutsopoulos, D.D.S., Ph.D.
NIH/NIDCR
Building 30, Room 327
30 Convent Dr. MSC 4320
Bethesda, MD 20892-4320
United States
Dr. Moutosopoulos’ research is focused on oral-barrier immunity. Studies implement a bedside-to-bench approach and aim to understand the molecular and cellular basis of oral immunity in health, and in the common inflammatory disease of periodontitis. Periodontitis is a common inflammatory disease in humans, leading to destruction of tooth-supporting structures and tooth loss. Periodontal inflammation/dysbiosis is also associated with infections in other parts of the body, as well as systemic inflammatory conditions, which underscores the possibility of common mechanisms of susceptibility or disease triggering. Therefore, understanding mechanisms involved in the susceptibility and pathogenesis of periodontitis is not only critical for understanding the disease itself, but may provide insights into shared mechanisms among inflammatory diseases. Understanding the mechanisms that microbial triggers and host elements use to regulate oral immunity in health and disease is the focus of our research program.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Moutsopoulos serves as an Adjunct Senior Investigator at NIDCR and as Chief of the Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome, the Human Barrier Immunity Section, and the Metaorganism Immunity Section at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Moutsopoulos received a D.D.S. degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki/Greece in 1998, completed her specialization in periodontology at the University of Maryland, and obtained a Ph.D. in immunology while working in the laboratory of Dr. Sharon Wahl at NIDCR. Dr. Moutsopoulos has worked as a clinical fellow at the NIH under the mentorship of Dr. Steven Holland (LCID/NIAID). Since 2010, Dr. Moutsopoulos has been an independent investigator building a clinical and translational program focused on basic oral immunology and susceptibility to the common human inflammatory disease periodontitis through the study of patients with monogenic immune defects.
- Silva LM, Doyle AD, GreenWell-Wild T, Dutzan N, Tran CL, Abusleme L, Juang LJ, Leung J, Chun EM, Lum A, Agler CS, Zuazo CE, Sibree M, Jani P, Kram V, Martin D, Moss K, Lionakis MS, Castellino FJ, Kastrup CJ, Flick MJ, Divaris K, Bugge TH, Moutsopoulos NM. Fibrin is a critical regulator of neutrophil effector function at the oral mucosal barrier. Science. 2021, 374:6575.
- Williams D, Wild T, Brenchley L, Dutzan N, Overmiller A, Webb S, Daniel M, Morell R, Hajishengallis G, Divaris K, Morass M, Haniffa M, Moutsopoulos NM. Human oral mucosa cell atlas reveals a stromal-neutrophil axis regulating tissue immunity. Cell. 184(15):4090-4104.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.013.
- Break T, Oikonomou V, Dutzan N, Desai JV, Swidergall M, Freiwald T, Chauss D, Harrison O, Alejo J, Williams DW, Pittaluga S, Lee C, Bouladoux N, Muthulekha S, Hoffman K, Greenwell-Wild T, Bruno V, Rosen LB, Lwin W, Renteria A, Pontejo S, Shannon JP, Myles IA, Olbrich P, Ferré E, Schmitt M, Martin D, Barber D, Solis N, Notarangelo LD, Serreze DV, Matsumoto M, Hickman HD, Murphy PM, Mark S. Anderson, Lim JK, Holland SM, Filler SG, Afzali B, Belkaid Y, Moutsopoulos NM, Lionakis M. Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections. Science.15;371(6526): eaay5731.
- Gaffen SL, Moutsopoulos NM. (R) Regulation of host-microbe interactions at oral mucosal barriers by type 17 immunity. Science Immunology. 2020 Jan 3;5(43).
- Dutzan N, Kajikawa T, Abusleme L, Greenwell-Wild T, Zuazo CE, Ikeuchi T, Brenchley L, Abe T, Hurabielle C, Martin D, Morell RJ, Freeman AF, Lazarevic V, Trinchieri G, Diaz PI, Holland SM, Belkaid Y, Hajishengallis G, Moutsopoulos NM. Dysbiotic microbiome triggers Th17 cells to mediate oral mucosal immunopathology in mice and humans. 2018. Sci. Transl. Med.10(451). pii: eaap8798.
- Moutsopoulos NM, Zerbe CS, Wild T, Dutzan N, Brenchley L, Uzel G, Chandler KC, Lisco A, Notarangelo LD, Hajishengallis G, Notarangelo LD, Holland SM. Interleukin-12 and Interleukin-23 blockade in leukocyte adhesion deficiency type 1. N Engl J Med. 2017 Mar 23;376(12);1141-1146.
- Dutzan N, Abusleme L, Bridgeman H, Greenwell-Wild T, Fife M, Bouladoux N, Hong B-Y, Break TJ, Bowdish DME, Lionakis MS, Trinchieri G, Diaz PI, Belkaid Y, Konkel JE, Moutsopoulos NM. On-going mechanical damage from mastication drives homeostatic Th17 cell responses at the oral barrier. Immunity. 2017 Jan 17; 46(1):133-147.
- Konig MF, Abusleme L, Reinholdt J, Palmer RJ, Kevon AR, Sampson PA, Nigrovic J, Sokolove J, Giles JT, Moutsopoulos NM, Adrade F. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-induced hypercitrullination links periodontal infection to autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis. Sci Transl Med. 2016 Dec 14;8(369):369ra176.
- Dutzan N, Konkel JE, Wild T, Moutsopoulos NM. Characterization of the human immune cell network at the gingival barrier. Mucosal Immunology. 2016 Sep;9(5):1163-72.
- Moutsopoulos NM, Konkel J, Sarmadi M, Eskan MA, Wild T, Dutzan N, Abusleme L, Zenobia C, Hosur KB, Abe T, Uzel G, Chen W, Chavakis T, Holland SM, Hajishengallis G. Defective neutrophil recruitment in leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I disease causes local IL-17–driven inflammatory bone loss. Sci Transl Med. 2014 Mar 26;6(229):229ra40.