Chihiro Morishima

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University of Washington
School of Medicine
Laboratory Medicine
Virology
Research Assistant Professor

Mailing Address

Box 359690
Seattle, Washington 98104
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (206) 744-9784
Fax: (206) 341-5203
chihiro@u.washington.edu

Qualifications

M.D..

Expertise and Research Interests

Chronic hepatitis C affects an estimated 3 million Americans and 130 million persons world-wide. The major consequence of the most common bloodborne infection in the US is liver fibrosis progression, which results from chronic liver inflammation, and predisposes patients to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, end-stage liver disease and death. I have two areas of research interest in hepatitis C; the first is in diagnostic testing for HCV and the second is in the immune response to HCV.

Our laboratory serves as the central virology laboratory for the NIDDK-sponsored HALT-C (Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-term Treatment against Cirrhosis) clinical trial. In collaboration with Dr. David Gretch, we have performed all of the diagnostic testing for this large clinical trial, and also evaluated the performance of several HCV diagnostic tests.

The primary focus of our immunology group is to study the immune response to HCV and its role in liver disease. Since HCV is a noncytopathic virus, it has been assumed for many years that the immune response to HCV is deleterious to liver health. However, recent data from our laboratory and others indicate that the role of the immune response is likely to be much more complex, with both beneficial and potentially deleterious components. We are specifically interested in the role of CD4+ T cell and NK cell responses in liver fibrosis progression, which we have studied in cohorts of HCV-infected and HCV and HIV-coinfected subjects. Along this line, we are studying the immune mechanism of action of herbal remedies thought to have "hepatoprotective" activity in humans.

The overall goal of all of our studies is to gain new knowledge that will guide the best treatment for patients infected with hepatitis C virus.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

'Antigens', 'Cancer Biology', 'Cellular Immunology', 'Communicable Diseases', 'Hepatology', 'HIV', 'Immunology', 'Inflammation', 'Lymphocytes', 'Viral Infections', Hepatitis, Pediatrics, Virology.

Additional Terms:

Hepatitis, Immunology.

Publications

  • Lok AS, Seeff LB, Morgan TR, di Bisceglie AM, Sterling RK, Curto TM, Everson GT, Lindsay KL, Lee WM, Bonkovsky HL, Dienstag JL, Ghany MG, Morishima C, Goodman ZD (Jan 2009) Incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and associated risk factors in hepatitis C-related advanced liver disease., Gastroenterology, 136 (1), 138-48 Abstract
  • Di Bisceglie AM, Shiffman ML, Everson GT, Lindsay KL, Everhart JE, Wright EC, Lee WM, Lok AS, Bonkovsky HL, Morgan TR, Ghany MG, Morishima C, Snow KK, Dienstag JL (Dec 2008) Prolonged therapy of advanced chronic hepatitis C with low-dose peginterferon., The New England journal of medicine, 359 (23), 2429-41 Abstract
  • Morishima C, Morgan TR, Everhart JE, Wright EC, Apodaca MC, Gretch DR, Shiffman ML, Everson GT, Lindsay KL, Lee WM, Lok AS, Dienstag JL, Ghany MG, Curto TM (Nov 2008) Interpretation of positive transcription-mediated amplification test results from polymerase chain reaction-negative samples obtained after treatment of chronic hepatitis C., Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 48 (5), 1412-9 Abstract
  • Polyak SJ, Morishima C, Hawke R (Jul 2008) Antiviral effects of silymarin against hepatitis C: the jury is still out., Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 48 (1), 345-6 Abstract
  • Lindsay KL, Morishima C, Wright EC, Dienstag JL, Shiffman ML, Everson GT, Lok AS, Bonkovsky HL, Lee WM, Morgan TR, Ghany MG (Feb 2008) Blunted cytopenias and weight loss: new correlates of virologic null response to re-treatment of chronic hepatitis C., Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association, 6 (2), 234-41 Abstract
  • Kim HN, Harrington RD, Shuhart MC, Cook L, Morishima C, Jerome KR, Wang CC (Oct 2007) Hepatitis C virus activation in HIV-infected patients initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy., AIDS patient care and STDs, 21 (10), 718-23 Abstract
  • Morishima, C, Shuhart, MC, Yoshihara, CS, Paschal, DM, Silva, MA, Thomassen, LV, Emerson, S.S., Gretch, DR (2007) Preservation of Intrahepatic HCV-specific CD4+ T cell Responses Despite Global Loss of CD4+ T cells in HCV/HIV Coinfection, Journal of Infectious Diseases, 196 (4), 577
  • Polyak, SJ, Morishima, C, Shuhart, MC, Wang, CC, Liu, Y, Lee, DYW (2007) Inhibition of T cell Inflammatory Cytokines, Hepatocyte NF-kB Signaling and HCV Infection by Standardized Silymarin, Gastroenterology, 132 (5), 1925
  • Morishima, C, Morgan, TR, Everhart, JE, Wright, EC, Shiffman, ML, Everson, GT, Lindsay, KL, Lok, ASF, Bonkovsky, HL, Di Bisceglie, A, Lee, WM, Dienstag, JL, Ghany, MG, Gretch, DR, and the HALT-C Trial Group (2006) HCV RNA Detection by TMA during the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) trial, Hepatology, 44 (2), 360
  • Morishima, C, Polyak, S.J., Ray, R, Doherty, M.C., Di Bisceglie, A.M., Malet, PF, Bonkovsky, HL, Sullivan, DG, Gretch, DR, Rothman, AL, Koziel, MJ, Lindsay, KL (2006) Hepatitis C virus-specific immune responses and quasispecies variability at baseline are associated with nonresponse to antiviral therapy during advanced hepatitis C, Journal of Infectious Diseases, 193, 931
  • Morishima, C, Paschal, D.M., Wang, C.C., Yoshihara, C.S., Wood, B.L., Yeo, A.E.T., Emerson, S.S., Shuhart, M.C., Gretch, D.R. (2006) Decreased NK cell frequency in chronic hepatitis C does not affect ex vivo cytolytic killing, Hepatology, 43 (3), 573
  • Rothman AL, Morishima C, Bonkovsky HL, Polyak SJ, Ray R, Di Bisceglie AM, Lindsay KL, Malet PF, Chang M, Gretch DR, Sullivan DG, Bhan AK, Wright EC, Koziel MJ, HALT-C Trial Group (Mar 2005) Associations among clinical, immunological, and viral quasispecies measurements in advanced chronic hepatitis C, 41 (3), 617-25
  • Lee WM, Dienstag JL, Lindsay KL, Lok AS, Bonkovsky HL, Shiffman ML, Everson GT, Di Bisceglie AM, Morgan TR, Ghany MG, Morishima C, Wright EC, Everhart JE, HALT-C Trial Group (Oct 2004) Evolution of the HALT-C Trial: pegylated interferon as maintenance therapy for chronic hepatitis C in previous interferon nonresponders., 25 (5), 472-92
  • Wener MH, Hutchinson K, Morishima C, Gretch DR (Jul 2004) Absence of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide in sera of patients with hepatitis C virus infection and cryoglobulinemia., 50 (7), 2305-8
  • Shiffman ML, Di Bisceglie AM, Lindsay KL, Morishima C, Wright EC, Everson GT, Lok AS, Morgan TR, Bonkovsky HL, Lee WM, Dienstag JL, Ghany MG, Goodman ZD, Everhart JE, Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis Trial Group (Apr 2004) Peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin in patients with chronic hepatitis C who have failed prior treatment., 126 (4), 1015-23; discussion
  • Morishima C, Chung M, Ng KW, Brambilla DJ, Gretch DR (Jan 2004) Strengths and limitations of commercial tests for hepatitis C virus RNA quantification., 42 (1), 421-5
  • Morishima C, Musey L, Elizaga M, Gaba K, Allison M, Carithers RL, Gretch DR, McElrath MJ (Sep 2003) Hepatitis C virus-specific cytolytic T cell responses after antiviral therapy., 108 (3), 211-20
  • Murray KF, Richardson LP, Morishima C, Owens JW, Gretch DR (Jan 2003) Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection and risk factors in an incarcerated juvenile population: a pilot study., 111 (1), 153-7
  • Morishima C, Norby-Slycord C, McConnell KR, Finch RJ, Nelson AJ, Farr AG, Pullen AM (Dec 1994) Expression of two structurally identical viral superantigens results in thymic elimination at distinct developmental stages., 153 (11), 5091-103

Profile Details

Last Updated: 9/14/2009

COS Expertise ID #802962
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/chihiro