Research Biographies

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DR JULIA DORIN

Medical and Developmental Genetics

Programme Leader


Julia Dorin

Contact Details

E-mail address: j.dorin@hgu.mrc.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)131 332 2471 (extension 3305)
Fax: +44 (0)131 467 8456
Address: Medical Research Council
Human Genetics Unit
Western General Hospital
Crewe Road
Edinburgh EH4 2XU
Research Programme: Host Defence Peptides:
Their Role in Immunity and Inflammatory Disease

Research Areas

Diseases of the airway are now killing more people in the U.K. than coronary heart disease. Airway disease is exacerbated by the rise of respiratory pathogens with a multi antibiotic resistant phenotype- so called “super bugs”. My research interests are centred around inflammatory respiratory disease with particular emphasis on cystic fibrosis (CF). In CF individuals, chronic bacterial infection, inflammation and lung damage is the reason why this disease results in death in young adulthood. Super bugs complicate the phenotype and reduce life expectancy.

My main area of interest is to investigate the in vivo function of the ß-defensin gene family of Host-Defence peptides, their role in innate immunity and inflammatory disease and their potential as therapeutics.


Recent Publications

  • Semple F, MacPherson H, Webb S, Cox SL, Mallin LJ, Tyrrell C, Grimes GR, Semple CA, Nix MA, Millhauser GL, Dorin JR: Human beta-defensin 3 affects the activity of pro-inflammatory pathways associated with MyD88 and TRIF
    Eur J Immunol 41:3291-3300, 2011.
    PubMed Abstract
  • Macmillan D, De CM, Reynolds NL, Santos LF, Barran PE, Dorin JR: Synthesis of cyclic peptides through an intramolecular amide bond rearrangement. Chembiochem 12:2133-2136, 2011.
    PubMed Abstract
  • De Cecco, M.; Seo, E.S.; Clarke, D.J.; McCullough, B.J.; Taylor, K.; MacMillan, D.; Dorin, J.R.; Campopiano, D.J. and Barran, P.E. Conformational preferences of linear beta-defensins are revealed by ion mobility-mass spectrometry. J Phys.Chem.B 114(6):2312-2318, 2010 PubMed Abstract
  • McCullough, B.J.; Kalapothakis, J.M.; Chin, W.; Taylor, K.; Clarke, D.J.; Eastwood, H.; Campopiano, D.; MacMillan, D.; Dorin, J. and Barran, P.E. Binding a heparin derived disaccharide to defensin inspired peptides: insights to antimicrobial inhibition from gas-phase measurements. Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. 12(14):3589-3596, 2010 PubMed Abstract
  • Tyrrell, C.; De Cecco, M.; Reynolds, N.L.; Kilanowski, F.; Campopiano, D.; Barran, P.; MacMillan, D. and Dorin, J.R. Isoleucine/leucine(2) is essential for chemoattractant activity of beta-defensin Defb14 through chemokine receptor. Mol.Immunol. 47(6):1378-82, 2010 PubMed Abstract
  • Kang, J.; Reynolds, N.L.; Tyrrell, C.; Dorin, J.R. and MacMillan, D. Peptide thioester synthesis through N-->S acyl-transfer: application to the synthesis of a beta-defensin. Org.Biomol.Chem. 7(23):4918-4923, 2009 PubMed Abstract
  • Taylor, K.; Rolfe, M.; Reynolds, N.; Kilanowski, F.; Pathania, U.; Clarke, D.; Yang, D.; Oppenheim, J.; Samuel, K.; Howie, S.; Barran, P.; MacMillan, D.; Campopiano, D. and Dorin, J. Defensin-related peptide 1 (Defr1) is allelic to Defb8 and chemoattracts immature DC and CD4+ T cells independently of CCR6. Eur.J.Immunol. 39(5):1353-1360, 2009 PubMed Abstract
  • Vargues, T.; Morrison, G.J.; Seo, E.S.; Clarke, D.J.; Fielder, H.L.; Bennani, J.; Pathania, U.; Kilanowski, F.; Dorin, J.R.; Govan, J.R.; Mackay, C.L.; Uhrin, D. and Campopiano, D.J. Efficient production of human beta-defensin 2 (HBD2) in Escherichia coli. Protein Pept.Lett. 16(6):668-676, 2009 PubMed Abstract
  • McCullough, B.J.; Kalapothakis, J.; Eastwood, H.; Kemper, P.; MacMillan, D.; Taylor, K.; Dorin, J. and Barran, P.E. Development of an Ion Mobility Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer. Anal Chem 80(16):6336-6344, 2008 PubMed Abstract
  • Taylor, K.; Barran, P.E. and Dorin, J.R. Structure-activity relationships in beta-defensin peptides. Biopolymers 90(1):1-7, 2008 PubMed Abstract