Tor Savidge, Ph.D.
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Tor Savidge, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Positions
- Associate Professor
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Department of Pathology and Immunology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
Professional Statement
My laboratory is actively researching Clostridium difficile pathogenesis and we were the first to identify toxin B as the major virulence factor in human intestine. We also identified a novel innate host defense mechanism against microbial toxin and pioneered new therapeutic concepts which we termed “allosteric therapeutics”.My research has also played a central role in discovering novel glial cell functions in the gut.
Websites
Selected Publications
- Savidge TC, Urvil P, Oezguen N, Ali K, Choudhury A, Acharya V, Pinchuk I, Torres AG, English RD, Wiktorowicz JE, Loeffelholz M, Kumar R, Shi L, Nie W, Braun W, Herman B, Hausladen A, Feng H, Stamler JS, Pothoulakis C "Host S-nitrosylation inhibits clostridial small molecule-activated glucosylating toxins.." Nat. Med.. 2011 September ; 17 (9): 1136-41. Pubmed PMID: 21857653
- Chen D, Savidge T. "Extreme electric fields power catalysis in the active site of ketosteroid isomerase." Science. 2015 August 28; 349 (6251): 936. Pubmed PMID: 4797066
- Chen D, Oezguen N, Urvil P, Ferguson C, Dann SM, Savidge TC. "Regulation of protein-ligand binding affinity by hydrogen bond pairing.." Sci Adv. 2016 March 25; 2 (3): Pubmed PMID: 27051863
- Bush TG, Savidge TC, Freeman TC, Cox HJ, Campbell EA, Mucke L, Johnson MH, Sofroniew MV "Fulminant jejuno-ileitis following ablation of enteric glia in adult transgenic mice.." Cell. 1998 April 17; 93 (2): 189-201. Pubmed PMID: 9568712
- Cornet A, Savidge TC, Cabarrocas J, Deng WL, Colombel JF, Lassmann H, Desreumaux P, Liblau RS "Enterocolitis induced by autoimmune targeting of enteric glial cells: a possible mechanism in Crohn's disease?." Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.. 2001 November 6; 98 (23): 13306-11. Pubmed PMID: 11687633
- Savidge TC, Newman P, Pothoulakis C, Ruhl A, Neunlist M, Bourreille A, Hurst R, Sofroniew MV "Enteric glia regulate intestinal barrier function and inflammation via release of S-nitrosoglutathione.." Gastroenterology. 2007 April ; 132 (4): 1344-58. Pubmed PMID: 17408650
- Savidge TC. "Epigenetic Regulation of Enteric Neurotransmission by Gut Bacteria.." Front Cell Neurosci.. 2016 January 8; 9 (503): Pubmed PMID: 26778967
- MacEachern SJ, Patel BA, Keenan CM, Dicay M, Chapman K, McCafferty DM, Savidge TC, Beck PL, MacNaughton WK, Sharkey KA "Inhibiting Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase in Enteric Glia Restores Electrogenic Ion Transport in Mice With Colitis.." Gastroenterology. 2015 August ; 149 (2): 445-455. Pubmed PMID: 25865048
- Mayer EA, Savidge T, Shulman RJ "Brain-gut microbiome interactions and functional bowel disorders." Gastroenterology. 2014 May ; 146 (6): 1500-1512. Pubmed PMID: 24583088
Funding
- Allosteric therapy of the Clostridium difficile toxins - #R01 NIAID AI10094001 (05/01/2012 - 05/31/2017) Grant funding from NIH R01
- The goal of this study is to develop novel allosteric inhibitors for the C. difficile toxins using inositolphosphate analogs and S-nitrosothiol biology.
- Metabolome-Based Biomarkers and Neutraceuticals in Clostridium Difficile Infection. - #R21DK096323-01 (09/15/2014 - 08/31/2015) Grant funding from NIH R21
- The goal of this study is to develop validate metabolomics biomarkers of disease susceptibility to Clostridium difficile.
Skills
- Expert Omics review
- NASA Human Research Roadmap for 2035 Mission to Mars.
- Editorial Board
- American Journal of Physiology (Gastroenterology and Hepatology).
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