Mark Petersen

MD

  • Assistant Professor, Pediatrics

Biography

My research centers on vascular mechanisms of neurological disease with a particular focus on neonatal brain injury. Blood vessels become damaged in the injured or diseased brain which allows proteins from the blood to leak into the nervous system. My work seeks to identify new therapies for neurological diseases by targeting toxic blood proteins and inflammatory signals at the blood-brain interface that block normal brain development and repair. To achieve this goal, our group has developed a multifaceted research program incorporating basic science studies of stem cells and animal models with translational studies of human tissue and blood biomarkers. We have discovered critical links between blood coagulation, inflammation, and stem cell dysfunction in neurological disease. The nervous system has long been defined by its limited capacity for regeneration which results in persistent neurological deficits after nervous system damage. Stem cells are abundant in the brain, but why these stem cells are unable to fully restore neural tissue after injury has remained a mystery. We found that the blood clotting protein fibrinogen causes inflammation in the brain and blocks stem cells from becoming mature, myelin-repairing cells. We are now designing therapies to overcome the inhibitory environment in the damaged nervous system to promote regeneration and normal brain development. Through collaborations with the UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative and UCSF Newborn Brain Research Institute, we are also extending our studies to explore how maternal inflammation and coagulation contribute to preterm birth and poor neonatal outcomes. By combining large population datasets with state-of-the-art multiplex and proteomic approaches to measure blood biomarkers, we hope to identify druggable pathways at the maternal-fetal interface that can be targeted to prevent or lessen the impact of preterm birth and neonatal brain injury.

Education & Training

  • University of California San Francisco , San Francisco, CA

    Neonatology

  • Stanford University / Lucile Packard Children's Hospital , Palo Alto, CA

    Pediatrics

  • University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine , Iowa City, IA

    Medicine

  • University of Iowa , Iowa City, IA

    Biology

Research Activities & Funding

  • Fibrinogen-mediated mechanisms of preterm infant brain injury

    —

    Sponsor: NIH K02NS110973

    Role: Principal Investigator

Publications

  • Petersen MA, Tognatta R, Meyer-Franke A, Bushong EA, Mendiola AS, Yan Z, Muthusamy A, Merlini M, Meza-Acevedo R, Cabriga B, Zhou Y, Thomas R, Ryu JK, Lassmann H, Ellisman MH, Akassoglou K. BMP receptor blockade overcomes extrinsic inhibition of remyelination and restores neurovascular homeostasis. Brain. 2021 09 04; 144(8):2291-2301. PubMed

  • Karvonen KL, Baer RJ, Rogers EE, Steurer MA, Ryckman KK, Feuer SK, Anderson JG, Franck LS, Gano D, Petersen MA, Oltman SP, Chambers BD, Neuhaus J, Rand L, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Pantell MS. Correction: Racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes through 1 year of life in infants born prematurely: a population based study in California. J Perinatol. 2021 Jul; 41(7):1782. PubMed

  • Karvonen KL, Baer RJ, Rogers EE, Steurer MA, Ryckman KK, Feuer SK, Anderson JG, Franck LS, Gano D, Petersen MA, Oltman SP, Chambers BD, Neuhaus J, Rand L, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL, Pantell MS. Racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes through 1 year of life in infants born prematurely: a population based study in California. J Perinatol. 2021 02; 41(2):220-231. PubMed

  • Merlini M, Rafalski VA, Ma K, Kim KY, Bushong EA, Rios Coronado PE, Yan Z, Mendiola AS, Sozmen EG, Ryu JK, Haberl MG, Madany M, Sampson DN, Petersen MA, Bardehle S, Tognatta R, Dean T, Acevedo RM, Cabriga B, Thomas R, Coughlin SR, Ellisman MH, Palop JJ, Akassoglou K. Microglial Gi-dependent dynamics regulate brain network hyperexcitability. Nat Neurosci. 2021 01; 24(1):19-23. PubMed

  • Oltman SP, Rogers EE, Baer RJ, Jasper EA, Anderson JG, Steurer MA, Pantell MS, Petersen MA, Partridge JC, Karasek D, Ross KM, Feuer SK, Franck LS, Rand L, Dagle JM, Ryckman KK, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL. Newborn metabolic vulnerability profile identifies preterm infants at risk for mortality and morbidity. Pediatr Res. 2021 05; 89(6):1405-1413. PubMed

  • Mendiola AS, Ryu JK, Bardehle S, Meyer-Franke A, Ang KK, Wilson C, Baeten KM, Hanspers K, Merlini M, Thomas S, Petersen MA, Williams A, Thomas R, Rafalski VA, Meza-Acevedo R, Tognatta R, Yan Z, Pfaff SJ, Machado MR, Bedard C, Coronado PER, Jiang X, Wang J, Pleiss MA, Green AJ, Zamvil SS, Pico AR, Bruneau BG, Arkin MR, Akassoglou K. Author Correction: Transcriptional profiling and therapeutic targeting of oxidative stress in neuroinflammation. Nat Immunol. 2020 Sep; 21(9):1135. PubMed

  • Mendiola AS, Ryu JK, Bardehle S, Meyer-Franke A, Ang KK, Wilson C, Baeten KM, Hanspers K, Merlini M, Thomas S, Petersen MA, Williams A, Thomas R, Rafalski VA, Meza-Acevedo R, Tognatta R, Yan Z, Pfaff SJ, Machado MR, Bedard C, Rios Coronado PE, Jiang X, Wang J, Pleiss MA, Green AJ, Zamvil SS, Pico AR, Bruneau BG, Arkin MR, Akassoglou K. Transcriptional profiling and therapeutic targeting of oxidative stress in neuroinflammation. Nat Immunol. 2020 05; 21(5):513-524. PubMed

  • Katerina Akassoglou, Reshmi Tognatta, Mark Petersen. Neurovascular interactions: Mechanisms, imaging, and therapeutics. IBRO Reports. 2019 Sep 1; 6:s33.

  • Ryu JK, Rafalski VA, Meyer-Franke A, Adams RA, Poda SB, Rios Coronado PE, Pedersen L?, Menon V, Baeten KM, Sikorski SL, Bedard C, Hanspers K, Bardehle S, Mendiola AS, Davalos D, Machado MR, Chan JP, Plastira I, Petersen MA, Pfaff SJ, Ang KK, Hallenbeck KK, Syme C, Hakozaki H, Ellisman MH, Swanson RA, Zamvil SS, Arkin MR, Zorn SH, Pico AR, Mucke L, Freedman SB, Stavenhagen JB, Nelson RB, Akassoglou K. Fibrin-targeting immunotherapy protects against neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Nat Immunol. 2018 11; 19(11):1212-1223. PubMed

  • Lee NJ, Ha SK, Sati P, Absinta M, Luciano NJ, Lefeuvre JA, Schindler MK, Leibovitch EC, Ryu JK, Petersen MA, Silva AC, Jacobson S, Akassoglou K, Reich DS. Spatiotemporal distribution of fibrinogen in marmoset and human inflammatory demyelination. Brain. 2018 06 01; 141(6):1637-1649. PubMed

  • Petersen MA, Ryu JK, Akassoglou K. Fibrinogen in neurological diseases: mechanisms, imaging and therapeutics. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2018 05; 19(5):283-301. PubMed

  • Petersen MA, Ryu JK, Chang KJ, Etxeberria A, Bardehle S, Mendiola AS, Kamau-Devers W, Fancy SPJ, Thor A, Bushong EA, Baeza-Raja B, Syme CA, Wu MD, Rios Coronado PE, Meyer-Franke A, Yahn S, Pous L, Lee JK, Schachtrup C, Lassmann H, Huang EJ, Han MH, Absinta M, Reich DS, Ellisman MH, Rowitch DH, Chan JR, Akassoglou K. Fibrinogen Activates BMP Signaling in Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells and Inhibits Remyelination after Vascular Damage. Neuron. 2017 Dec 06; 96(5):1003-1012.e7. PubMed

  • Ryu JK, Petersen MA, Murray SG, Baeten KM, Meyer-Franke A, Chan JP, Vagena E, Bedard C, Machado MR, Rios Coronado PE, Prod'homme T, Charo IF, Lassmann H, Degen JL, Zamvil SS, Akassoglou K. Blood coagulation protein fibrinogen promotes autoimmunity and demyelination via chemokine release and antigen presentation. Nat Commun. 2015 Sep 10; 6:8164. PubMed

  • Davalos D, Baeten KM, Whitney MA, Mullins ES, Friedman B, Olson ES, Ryu JK, Smirnoff DS, Petersen MA, Bedard C, Degen JL, Tsien RY, Akassoglou K. Early detection of thrombin activity in neuroinflammatory disease. Ann Neurol. 2014 Feb; 75(2):303-8. PubMed

  • Jae Kyu Ryu, Kim M. Baeten, Mark A. Petersen, Sara G. Murray, Anke Meyer-Franke, Dimitrios Davalos, Catherine Bedard, Thomas Prod’homme, Israel F. Charo, Hans Lassmann, Jay L. Degen, Scott S. Zamvil, Katerina Akassoglou. 220 Fibrinogen/CR3 signaling induces demyelination by promoting Th1 cell differentiation and peripheral macrophage recruitment into the CNS. Cytokine. 2013 Sep 1; 63(3):295.

  • Davalos D, Ryu JK, Merlini M, Baeten KM, Le Moan N, Petersen MA, Deerinck TJ, Smirnoff DS, Bedard C, Hakozaki H, Gonias Murray S, Ling JB, Lassmann H, Degen JL, Ellisman MH, Akassoglou K. Fibrinogen-induced perivascular microglial clustering is required for the development of axonal damage in neuroinflammation. Nat Commun. 2012; 3:1227. PubMed

  • Petersen MA, Dailey ME. Diverse microglial motility behaviors during clearance of dead cells in hippocampal slices. Glia. 2004 Apr 15; 46(2):195-206. PubMed

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