Mucosal and Cutaneous Viral Immunopathogenesis Unit (MCVIU)
Andrea Lisco, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Mucosal and Cutaneous Viral Immunopathogenesis Unit
Lasker Clinical Research Scholar
Contact: For contact information, search the NIH Enterprise Directory.
Major Areas of Research
- Immunological, genetic and virological determinants of the susceptibility to severe HPV-related diseases
- Viral pathogenesis in skin and mucosal surfaces of patients with primary and acquired immunodeficiencies
- Immune-based therapeutic strategies of severe HPV-related diseases
Program Description
Primary and acquired immunodeficiencies like HIV/AIDS are associated with a high prevalence of skin and mucosal diseases caused by the Human Papillomaviruses (HPV), as well as an accelerated progression to HPV-related cancers. Dr. Lisco`s primary focus is on delineating the genetic, immunological, and molecular determinants of the persistence, regression, or progression of HPV-related diseases to inform innovative preventive and therapeutic strategies.
The translational workflow of the laboratory is based on the integration of clinical protocols focused on the identification of clinical and epidemiological predictors of severe HPV-related diseases with studies on host genetics and tissue-specific immunopathogenesis at the skin and mucosal barriers, eventually informing personalized interventional clinical protocols.
Biography
Education
M.D., University of Bari, Italy
Ph.D., University of Padua, Italy
Dr. Lisco earned his medical degree at the University of Bari, Italy and pursued his research interests in viral immunology and pathogenesis of oncogenic viruses during his Ph.D. at the University of Padua, Italy, and post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. He then underwent his internal medicine residency training at Case Western University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and returned to the NIH to complete his fellowship training in infectious disease at NIAID. Dr. Lisco was an assistant clinical investigator in the HIV Pathogenesis Section in the Laboratory of Immunoregulation (LIR), NIAID, from 2018 to 2024 and now serves as Chief of the Mucosal and Cutaneous Viral Immunopathogenesis Unit in LIR. Dr. Lisco was appointed as a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in 2024.
2024 Lasker Clinical Research Scholar
In June 2024, Andrea Lisco, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed as a Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program, an historic “intramural-extramural” partnership to nurture the next generation of clinical researchers. Dr. Lisco focuses on delineating the determinants of persistence, regression, or progression of human papillomavirus (HPV)–related diseases. His goal is to improve clinical outcomes in immunocompromised patients with severe diseases related to HPV. Learn more about NIH’s four newest Lasker Scholars.
Clinical Studies
Selected Publications
Lisco A, Ortega-Villa AM, Mystakelis H, Anderson MV, Mateja A, Laidlaw E, Manion M, Roby G, Higgins J, Kuriakose S, Walkiewicz MA, Similuk M, Leiding JW, Freeman AF, Sheikh V, Sereti I. Reappraisal of Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia at 30 Years. N Engl J Med. 2023 May 4;388(18):1680-1691.
Lisco A, Hsu AP, Dimitrova D, Proctor DM, Mace EM, Ye P, Anderson MV, Hicks SN, Grivas C, Hammoud DA, Manion M, Starrett GJ, Farrel A, Dobbs K, Brownell I, Buck C, Notarangelo LD, Orange JS, Leonard WJ, Orestes MI, Peters AT, Kanakry JA, Segre JA, Kong HH, Sereti I. Treatment of Relapsing HPV Diseases by Restored Function of Natural Killer Cells. N Engl J Med. 2021 Sep 2;385(10):921-929.
Lisco A, Ye P, Wong CS, Pei L, Hsu AP, Mace EM, Orange JS, Lage SL, Ward AJ, Migueles SA, Connors M, Anderson MV, Buckner CM, Moir S, Rupert A, Dulau-Florea A, Ogbogu P, Timberlake D, Notarangelo LD, Pittaluga S, Abraham RS, Sereti I. Lost in Translation: Lack of CD4 Expression due to a Novel Genetic Defect. J Infect Dis. 2021 Feb 24;223(4):645-654.
Lisco A, Wong CS, Lage SL, Levy I, Brophy J, Lennox J, Manion M, Anderson MV, Mejia Y, Grivas C, Mystakelis H, Burbelo PD, Perez-Diez A, Rupert A, Martens CA, Anzick SL, Morse C, Chan S, Deleage C, Sereti I. Identification of rare HIV-1-infected patients with extreme CD4+ T cell decline despite ART-mediated viral suppression. JCI Insight. 2019 Apr 18;4(8):e127113.
Pastrana DV, Peretti A, Welch NL, Borgogna C, Olivero C, Badolato R, Notarangelo LD, Gariglio M, FitzGerald PC, McIntosh CE, Reeves J, Starrett GJ, Bliskovsky V, Velez D, Brownell I, Yarchoan R, Wyvill KM, Uldrick TS, Maldarelli F, Lisco A, Sereti I, Gonzalez CM, Androphy EJ, McBride AA, Van Doorslaer K, Garcia F, Dvoretzky I, Liu JS, Han J, Murphy PM, McDermott DH, Buck CB. Metagenomic Discovery of 83 New Human Papillomavirus Types in Patients with Immunodeficiency. mSphere. 2018 Dec 12;3(6):e00645-18.
Lisco A, Munawwar A, Introini A, Vanpouille C, Saba E, Feng X, Grivel JC, Singh S, Margolis L. Semen of HIV-1-infected individuals: local shedding of herpesviruses and reprogrammed cytokine network. J Infect Dis. 2012 Jan 1;205(1):97-105.
Research Group
Delineating & genetic, immunological, and molecular determinants of HPV-related diseases to inform innovative preventive & therapeutic strategies. The translational workflow integrates protocols to identify clinical & epidemiological predictors of severe disease with studies on host genetics & tissue-specific immunopathogenesis, eventually informing personalized interventional clinical protocols.