Pediatric Research

Anthony R. French, M.D., Ph.D. french_a@wustl.edu

Division Chief, Rheumatology

Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology & Immunology, and Biomedical Engineering, Washington University School of Medicine

View my lab

Rheumatology

phone: (314) 454-6124

Research Interests

Anthony R. French received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His graduate work was with Dr. Douglas Lauffenburger studying receptor-mediated endocytosis and intracellular sorting. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and his fellowship in Pediatric Rheumatology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. His clinical interests include juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis, vasculitis, and pediatric SLE. His research is focused on the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the early innate immune response and is motivated by the hypothesis that a clearer understanding of in vivo NK cell responses and homeostasis may lead to novel therapeutic interventions in autoimmune diseases.

Education

BS, University of Minnesota, 1989
MSc, University of Illinois, 1993
PhD, University of Illinois, 1995
MD, University of Illinois, 1997

Training

Residency, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, 1997 - 2000
Fellow, Pediatric Rheumatology, Washington University School of Medicine, 2000 - 2003

Licensure and Board Certification

American Board of Pediatrics, 2000 - Pres
MO, Physician and Surgeon, 2003 - Pres
Pediatric Rheumatology, 2004 - Pres

Honors

Procter and Gamble Fellowship, 1990 - 1991
Chevron Fellowship, 1991 - 1992
Alpha Omega Alpha, 1996
Lange Medical Pub. Award for Outstanding Performance in Medical School, 1997
Ross Award for Excellence in Pediatrics, 1997
Yardy Award for Excellence in Family Medicine, 1997
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Faculty Development Award, 2002 - 2005
Scholar, Child Health Research Center of Excellence, Washington Univ, 2006 - 2008
Basil O'Connor Scholar Award, March of Dimes, 2007 - 2009
Elected to Society of Pediatric Research, 2010
Elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2014

Selected Publications view all (53)

Publication Co-Authors

Megan A. Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.

Phillip I. Tarr, M.D.

David A. Hunstad, M.D.

Andrew J. White, M.D.

Mary E. Hartman, M.D., M.P.H.

Nuri B. Farber

Maleewan Kitcharoensakkul, MD, MSCI

Joshua B. Alinger

Charles Samson, M.D.

Jane M. Garbutt, M.D.

Kevin Baszis, M.D.

1.	Sun L, Miyoshi H, Origanti S, Nice TJ, Barger AC, Manieri NA, Fogel LA, French AR, Piwnica-Worms D, Piwnica-Worms H, Virgin HW, Lenschow DJ, Stappenbeck TS. Type I interferons link viral infection to enhanced epithelial turnover and repair. Cell Host Microbe. 2015;17(1):85-97. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2014.11.004 PMCID:PMC4297260 PMID:25482432
2.	Tarbox JA, Keppel MP, Topcagic N, Mackin C, Ben Abdallah M, Baszis KW, White AJ, French AR, Cooper MA. Elevated double negative T cells in pediatric autoimmunity. J Clin Immunol. 2014;34(5):594-9. doi:10.1007/s10875-014-0038-z PMCID:PMC4047151 PMID:24760111
3.	Chapa TJ, Perng YC, French AR, Yu D. Murine cytomegalovirus protein pM92 is a conserved regulator of viral late gene expression. J Virol. 2014;88(1):131-42. doi:10.1128/JVI.02684-13 PMCID:PMC3911726 PMID:24131717
4.	Sullivan RP, Fogel LA, Leong JW, Schneider SE, Wong R, Romee R, Thai TH, Sexl V, Matkovich SJ, Dorn GW 2nd, French AR, Fehniger TA. MicroRNA-155 tunes both the threshold and extent of NK cell activation via targeting of multiple signaling pathways. J Immunol. 2013;191(12):5904-13. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1301950 PMCID:PMC3863634 PMID:24227772
5.	Lim E, Tao Y, White AJ, French AR, Cooper MA. Hypogammaglobulinemia in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2013;22(13):1382-7. doi:10.1177/0961203313507990 PMCID:PMC3840537 PMID:24106215
6.	Fogel LA, Sun MM, Geurs TL, Carayannopoulos LN, French AR. Markers of nonselective and specific NK cell activation. J Immunol. 2013;190(12):6269-76. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1202533 PMCID:PMC3679313 PMID:23656738
7.	Ornstein BW, Hill EB, Geurs TL, French AR. Natural killer cell functional defects in pediatric patients with severe and recurrent herpesvirus infections. J Infect Dis. 2013;207(3):458-68. doi:10.1093/infdis/jis701 PMCID:PMC3693586 PMID:23175766
8.	Sauer K, Park E, Siegemund S, French AR, Wahle JA, Sternberg L, Rigaud S, Jonsson AH, Yokoyama WM, Huang YH. Inositol tetrakisphosphate limits NK cell effector functions by controlling PI3K signaling. Blood. 2013;121(2):286-97. doi:10.1182/blood-2012-05-429241 PMCID:PMC3544114 PMID:23175687
9.	Zhao YM, French AR. Mechanistic model of natural killer cell proliferative response to IL-15 receptor stimulation. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(9):e1003222. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003222 PMCID:PMC3772054 PMID:24068905

1.	Panupattanapong S, Stwalley DJ, White AJ, Olsen MA, French AR, Hartman ME. Epidemiology and Outcomes of Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) in Pediatric and Working-age Adult Populations in the United States: Analysis of a Large National Claims Database 2018. PMID:29806148
2.	Throm AA, Moncrieffe H, Orandi AB, Pingel JT, Geurs TL, Miller HL, Daugherty AL, Malkova ON, Lovell D, Thompson SD, Grom AA, Cooper MA, Oh ST, French AR. Identification of Enhanced Interferon-Gamma Signaling in Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis with Mass Cytometry in press. 2018.
3.	Orange JS, Mace EM, French AR, Yokoyama WM, Fehniger TA, Cooper MA. Comment on: Evidence of innate lymphoid cell redundancy in humans. Nat Imm, in press. 2018;19(8):788-789. PMID:30026477
4.	Chapa TJ, Du Y, Sun R, Yu D, French AR. Proteomic and phylogenetic coevolution analyses of pM79 and pM92 identify interactions with RNA polymerase II and delineate the murine cytomegalovirus late transcription complex. J Gen Virol. 2017;98(2):242-250. PMID:27926822
5.	Arefanian S, Schäll D, Chang S, Ghasemi R, Higashikubo R, Zheleznyak A, Guo Y, Yu J, Asgharian H, Li W, Gelman AE, Kreisel D, French AR, Zaher H, Plougastel-Douglas B, Maggi L, Yokoyama W, Beer-Hammer S, Krupnick AS. Deficiency of the adaptor protein SLy1 results in a natural killer cell ribosomopathy affecting tumor clearance. Oncoimmunology. 2016;5(12):e1238543. PMCID:PMC5215235 PMID:28123874
6.	Fotis L, Baszis KW, White AJ, and French AR. Four cases of anti-PM/Scl antibody positive juvenile overlap syndrome with features of myositis and systemic sclerosis. J Rheum. 2016. PMID:27587018
7.	Fotis L, Baszis KW, French AR, Cooper MA, White AJ. Mesenteric vasculitis in children with systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Rheumatol. 2016;35(3):785-93. PMID:25687984
8.	Sun L, Miyoshi H, Origanti S, Nice TJ, Barger AC, Manieri NA, Fogel LA, French AR, Piwnica-Worms D, Piwnica-Worms H, Virgin HW, Lenschow DJ, Stappenbeck TS. Type I interferons link viral infection to enhanced epithelial turnover and repair. Cell Host Microbe. 2015;17(1):85-97. doi:10.1016/j.chom.2014.11.004 PMCID:PMC4297260 PMID:25482432
9.	Tarbox JA, Keppel MP, Topcagic N, Mackin C, Ben Abdallah M, Baszis KW, White AJ, French AR, Cooper MA. Elevated double negative T cells in pediatric autoimmunity. J Clin Immunol. 2014;34(5):594-9. doi:10.1007/s10875-014-0038-z PMCID:PMC4047151 PMID:24760111
10.	Chapa TJ, Perng YC, French AR, Yu D. Murine cytomegalovirus protein pM92 is a conserved regulator of viral late gene expression. J Virol. 2014;88(1):131-42. doi:10.1128/JVI.02684-13 PMCID:PMC3911726 PMID:24131717
11.	Sullivan RP, Fogel LA, Leong JW, Schneider SE, Wong R, Romee R, Thai TH, Sexl V, Matkovich SJ, Dorn GW 2nd, French AR, Fehniger TA. MicroRNA-155 tunes both the threshold and extent of NK cell activation via targeting of multiple signaling pathways. J Immunol. 2013;191(12):5904-13. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1301950 PMCID:PMC3863634 PMID:24227772
12.	Lim E, Tao Y, White AJ, French AR, Cooper MA. Hypogammaglobulinemia in pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus. 2013;22(13):1382-7. doi:10.1177/0961203313507990 PMCID:PMC3840537 PMID:24106215
13.	Fogel LA, Sun MM, Geurs TL, Carayannopoulos LN, French AR. Markers of nonselective and specific NK cell activation. J Immunol. 2013;190(12):6269-76. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1202533 PMCID:PMC3679313 PMID:23656738
14.	Ornstein BW, Hill EB, Geurs TL, French AR. Natural killer cell functional defects in pediatric patients with severe and recurrent herpesvirus infections. J Infect Dis. 2013;207(3):458-68. doi:10.1093/infdis/jis701 PMCID:PMC3693586 PMID:23175766
15.	Sauer K, Park E, Siegemund S, French AR, Wahle JA, Sternberg L, Rigaud S, Jonsson AH, Yokoyama WM, Huang YH. Inositol tetrakisphosphate limits NK cell effector functions by controlling PI3K signaling. Blood. 2013;121(2):286-97. doi:10.1182/blood-2012-05-429241 PMCID:PMC3544114 PMID:23175687
16.	Zhao YM, French AR. Mechanistic model of natural killer cell proliferative response to IL-15 receptor stimulation. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013;9(9):e1003222. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003222 PMCID:PMC3772054 PMID:24068905
17.	Mon T, L'ecuyer S, Farber NB, White AJ, Baszis KW, Hearn JK, Spiegel TE, French AR, Kitcharoensakkul M. The use of electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus and catatonia. Lupus. 2012;21(14):1575-81. doi:10.1177/0961203312464803 PMID:23161578
18.	Geurs TL, Hill EB, Lippold DM, French AR. Sex differences in murine susceptibility to systemic viral infections. J Autoimmun. 2012;38(2-3):J245-53. doi:10.1016/j.jaut.2011.12.003 PMCID:PMC3313007 PMID:22209097
19.	Sullivan RP, Leong JW, Schneider SE, Keppel CR, Germino E, French AR, Fehniger TA. MicroRNA-deficient NK cells exhibit decreased survival but enhanced function. J Immunol. 2012;188(7):3019-30. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1102294 PMCID:PMC3311726 PMID:22379033
20.	Zhao YM, French AR. Two-compartment model of NK cell proliferation: insights from population response to IL-15 stimulation. J Immunol. 2012;188(7):2981-90. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1102989 PMCID:PMC3311749 PMID:22379026
21.	Hwang I, Scott JM, Kakarla T, Duriancik DM, Choi S, Cho C, Lee T, Park H, French AR, Beli E, Gardner E, Kim S. Activation mechanisms of natural killer cells during influenza virus infection. PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e51858. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051858 PMCID:PMC3534084 PMID:23300570
22.	Baszis K, Toib D, Cooper M, French A, White A. Recurrent parotitis as a presentation of primary pediatric Sjögren syndrome. Pediatrics. 2012;129(1):e179-82. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-0716 PMID:22184654
23.	Baszis K, Garbutt J, Toib D, Mao J, King A, White A, French A. Clinical outcomes after withdrawal of anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a twelve-year experience. Arthritis Rheum. 2011;63(10):3163-8. doi:10.1002/art.30502 PMID:21702011
24.	Campbell JA, Davis RS, Lilly LM, Fremont DH, French AR, Carayannopoulos LN. Cutting edge: FcR-like 5 on innate B cells is targeted by a poxvirus MHC class I-like immunoevasin. J Immunol. 2010;185(1):28-32. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1000240 PMCID:PMC3321838 PMID:20519648
25.	Geurs TL, Zhao YM, Hill EB, French AR. Ly49H engagement compensates for the absence of type I interferon signaling in stimulating NK cell proliferation during murine cytomegalovirus infection. J Immunol. 2009;183(9):5830-6. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0901520 PMCID:PMC2765556 PMID:19828630
26.	Cai SF, Fehniger TA, Cao X, Mayer JC, Brune JD, French AR, Ley TJ. Differential expression of granzyme B and C in murine cytotoxic lymphocytes. J Immunol. 2009;182(10):6287-97. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0804333 PMCID:PMC2714542 PMID:19414782
27.	Cheng TP, French AR, Plougastel BF, Pingel JT, Orihuela MM, Buller ML, Yokoyama WM. Ly49h is necessary for genetic resistance to murine cytomegalovirus. Immunogenetics. 2008;60(10):565-73. doi:10.1007/s00251-008-0313-3 PMCID:PMC2730736 PMID:18668236
28.	Kim S, Sunwoo JB, Yang L, Choi T, Song YJ, French AR, Vlahiotis A, Piccirillo JF, Cella M, Colonna M, Mohanakumar T, Hsu KC, Dupont B, Yokoyama WM. HLA alleles determine differences in human natural killer cell responsiveness and potency. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(8):3053-8. doi:10.1073/pnas.0712229105 PMCID:PMC2268583 PMID:18287063
29.	French AR, Kim S, Fehniger TA, Pratt JR, Yang L, Song YJ, Caligiuri MA, Yokoyama WM. Chronic lymphocytosis of functionally immature natural killer cells. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007;120(4):924-31. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2007.05.022 PMID:17604094
30.	Cooper MA, Willingham DL, Brown DE, French AR, Shih FF, White AJ. Rituximab for the treatment of juvenile dermatomyositis: a report of four pediatric patients. Arthritis Rheum. 2007;56(9):3107-11. doi:10.1002/art.22856 PMID:17763414
31.	Fehniger TA, Cai SF, Cao X, Bredemeyer AJ, Presti RM, French AR, Ley TJ. Acquisition of murine NK cell cytotoxicity requires the translation of a pre-existing pool of granzyme B and perforin mRNAs. Immunity. 2007;26(6):798-811. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2007.04.010 PMID:17540585
32.	Hunstad DA, French AR. Histoplasmosis in a child with JRA on low-dose methotrexate. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2007;46(1):177-8. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kel375 PMID:17114804
33.	French AR, Sjölin H, Kim S, Koka R, Yang L, Young DA, Cerboni C, Tomasello E, Ma A, Vivier E, Kärre K, Yokoyama WM. DAP12 signaling directly augments proproliferative cytokine stimulation of NK cells during viral infections. J Immunol. 2006;177(8):4981-90. PMID:17015680
34.	French AR, Holroyd EB, Yang L, Kim S, Yokoyama WM. IL-18 acts synergistically with IL-15 in stimulating natural killer cell proliferation. Cytokine. 2006;35(5-6):229-34. doi:10.1016/j.cyto.2006.08.006 PMID:17052916
35.	Kim S, Song YJ, Higuchi DA, Kang HP, Pratt JR, Yang L, Hong CM, Poursine-Laurent J, Iizuka K, French AR, Sunwoo JB, Ishii S, Reimold AM, Yokoyama WM. Arrested natural killer cell development associated with transgene insertion into the Atf2 locus. Blood. 2006;107(3):1024-30. doi:10.1182/blood-2005-04-1493 PMCID:PMC1458371 PMID:16223777
36.	Kim S, Poursine-Laurent J, Truscott SM, Lybarger L, Song YJ, Yang L, French AR, Sunwoo JB, Lemieux S, Hansen TH, Yokoyama WM. Licensing of natural killer cells by host major histocompatibility complex class I molecules. Nature. 2005;436(7051):709-13. doi:10.1038/nature03847 PMID:16079848
37.	Banks TA, Rickert S, Benedict CA, Ma L, Ko M, Meier J, Ha W, Schneider K, Granger SW, Turovskaya O, Elewaut D, Otero D, French AR, Henry SC, Hamilton JD, Scheu S, Pfeffer K, Ware CF. A lymphotoxin-IFN-beta axis essential for lymphocyte survival revealed during cytomegalovirus infection. J Immunol. 2005;174(11):7217-25. PMID:15905567
38.	French AR, Pingel JT, Kim S, Yang L, Yokoyama WM. Rapid emergence of escape mutants following infection with murine cytomegalovirus in immunodeficient mice. Clin Immunol. 2005;115(1):61-9. doi:10.1016/j.clim.2005.02.008 PMID:15870022
39.	Krug A, French AR, Barchet W, Fischer JA, Dzionek A, Pingel JT, Orihuela MM, Akira S, Yokoyama WM, Colonna M. TLR9-dependent recognition of MCMV by IPC and DC generates coordinated cytokine responses that activate antiviral NK cell function. Immunity. 2004;21(1):107-19. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2004.06.007 PMID:15345224
40.	French AR, Pingel JT, Wagner M, Bubic I, Yang L, Kim S, Koszinowski U, Jonjic S, Yokoyama WM. Escape of mutant double-stranded DNA virus from innate immune control. Immunity. 2004;20(6):747-56. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2004.05.006 PMID:15189739
41.	Dorner BG, Smith HR, French AR, Kim S, Poursine-Laurent J, Beckman DL, Pingel JT, Kroczek RA, Yokoyama WM. Coordinate expression of cytokines and chemokines by NK cells during murine cytomegalovirus infection. J Immunol. 2004;172(5):3119-31. PMID:14978118
42.	Kim S, Iizuka K, Kang HS, Dokun A, French AR, Greco S, Yokoyama WM. In vivo developmental stages in murine natural killer cell maturation. Nat Immunol. 2002;3(6):523-8. doi:10.1038/ni796 PMID:12006976
43.	French AR, Mason T, Nelson AM, Crowson CS, O'Fallon WM, Khosla S, Gabriel SE. Osteopenia in adults with a history of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. A population based study. J Rheumatol. 2002;29(5):1065-70. PMID:12022324
44.	French AR, Mason T, Nelson AM, O'Fallon WM, Gabriel SE. Increased mortality in adults with a history of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based study. Arthritis Rheum. 2001;44(3):523-7. doi:10.1002/1529-0131(200103)44:3<523::AID-ANR99>3.0.CO;2-1 PMID:11263765
45.	French AR, Lauffenburger DA. Controlling receptor/ligand trafficking: effects of cellular and molecular properties on endosomal sorting. Ann Biomed Eng. 1997;25(4):690-707. PMID:9236981
46.	Lauffenburger DA, Chu L, French A, Oehrtman G, Reddy C, Wells A, Niyogi S, Wiley HS. Engineering dynamics of growth factors and other therapeutic ligands. Biotechnol Bioeng. 1996;52(1):61-80. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0290(19961005)52:1<61::AID-BIT6>3.0.CO;2-X PMID:18629852
47.	French AR, Lauffenburger DA. Intracellular receptor/ligand sorting based on endosomal retention components. Biotechnol Bioeng. 1996;51(3):281-97. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0290(19960805)51:3<281::AID-BIT4>3.0.CO;2-9 PMID:18624361
48.	French AR, Tadaki DK, Niyogi SK, Lauffenburger DA. Intracellular trafficking of epidermal growth factor family ligands is directly influenced by the pH sensitivity of the receptor/ligand interaction. J Biol Chem. 1995;270(9):4334-40. PMID:7876195
49.	French AR, Sudlow GP, Wiley HS, Lauffenburger DA. Postendocytic trafficking of epidermal growth factor-receptor complexes is mediated through saturable and specific endosomal interactions. J Biol Chem. 1994;269(22):15749-55. PMID:8195228
50.	Ajtai K, French AR, Burghardt TP. Myosin cross-bridge orientation in rigor and in the presence of nucleotide studied by electron spin resonance. Biophys J. 1989;56(3):535-41. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(89)82700-6 PMCID:PMC1280506 PMID:2551407
51.	Burghardt TP, French AR. Reconstruction of the probe angular distribution from a series of electron spin resonance spectra of tilted oriented samples. Biophys J. 1989;56(3):525-34. doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(89)82699-2 PMCID:PMC1280505 PMID:2551406
52.	Mah AY, Rashidi A, Keppel MP, Saucier N, Moore EK, Alinger JB, Tripathy SK, Agarwal SK, Jeng EK, Wong HC, Miller JS, Fehniger TA, Mace EM, French AR, Cooper MA. Glycolytic requirement for NK cell cytotoxicity and cytomegalovirus control. JCI Insight 2017. PMID:29212951
53.	Fotis L, Shaikh N, Baszis KW, Samson CM, Lev-TZion R, French AR, Tarr PI. Serologic Evidence of Gut-driven Systemic Inflammation in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis J Rheum 2017. 44(11):1624-31. PMID:28916545