John Varga, MD
Gallagher Professor of Medicine

Biographical Sketch

Dr Varga received his medical degree at New York University, and completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital – Brown University in Providence, followed by Fellowship in Rheumatology at Boston University, and post-doctoral research training in the laboratory of Dr Sergio Jimenez at the University of Pennsylvania. He was Assistant and Associate Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia from 1987 till 1995, when he became Director of Rheumatology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Dr Varga’s research focuses on fibroblast biology, fibrosis and cytokines. Dr Varga chairs the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of the Scleroderma Foundation, and the Abbott Scholar Advisory Board. He was selected as The Gallagher Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2004.

Short Research Description

The Varga lab is interested in the pathways that regulate extracellular matrix turnover and accumulation in normal and scleroderma fibroblasts; in characterizing the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the development of tissue fibrosis in scleroderma and animal models of pathological fibrosis; and in designing experimental strategies to disrupt profibrotic signaling that could be applicable to the treatment of fibrotic disorders such as scleroderma.

 Publications

1.  Bhattacharyya S, Ghosh AK, Pannu J, Mori Y, Takagawa S, Chen G, Trojanowska M, Gilliam AC, Varga J.     
Fibroblast expression of the coactivator p300 governs the intensity of profibrotic response to transforming growth factor beta. Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Apr;52(4):1248-58.
PMID: 15818659 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
2.  Ray D, Terao Y, Nimbalkar D, Chu LH, Donzelli M, Tsutsui T, Zou X, Ghosh AK, Varga J, Draetta GF, Kiyokawa H.   
Transforming growth factor beta facilitates beta-TrCP-mediated degradation of Cdc25A in a Smad3-dependent manner.  Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Apr;25(8):3338-47.
PMID: 15798217 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
3.  Varga J.  New hope for systemic sclerosis patients with digital ulcers. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2005 Apr;7(2):127-8. No abstract available.  PMID: 15760591 [PubMed - in process]
4.  Khanna D, Clements PJ, Furst DE, Chon Y, Elashoff R, Roth MD, Sterz MG, Chung J, FitzGerald JD, Seibold JR, Varga J, Theodore A, Wigley FM, Silver RM, Steen VD, Mayes MD, Connolly MK, Fessler BJ, Rothfield NF, Mubarak K, Molitor J, Tashkin DP; Scleroderma Lung Study Group.       
Correlation of the degree of dyspnea with health-related quality of life, functional abilities, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide in patients with systemic sclerosis and active alveolitis: results from the Scleroderma Lung Study.
Arthritis Rheum. 2005 Feb;52(2):592-600.
PMID: 15692967 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
5.  Ramirez A, Varga J.  Pulmonary arterial hypertension in systemic sclerosis: clinical manifestations, pathophysiology, evaluation, and management.  Treat Respir Med. 2004;3(6):339-52. Review. PMID: 15658881 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
6.  Mori Y, Ishida W, Bhattacharyya S, Li Y, Platanias LC, Varga J. Selective inhibition of activin receptor-like kinase 5 signaling blocks profibrotic transforming growth factor beta responses in skin fibroblasts. Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Dec;50(12):4008-21. PMID: 15593186 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
7.  Ramirez AM, Takagawa S, Sekosan M, Jaffe HA, Varga J, Roman J.  Smad3 deficiency ameliorates experimental obliterative bronchiolitis in a heterotopic tracheal transplantation model.  Am J Pathol. 2004 Oct;165(4):1223-32.
PMID: 15466388 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
8.  Ghosh AK, Bhattacharyya S, Varga J.  The tumor suppressor p53 abrogates Smad-dependent collagen gene induction in mesenchymal cells.  J Biol Chem. 2004 Nov 12;279(46):47455-63. Epub 2004 Sep 1.
PMID: 15345715 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
9.  Lakos G, Takagawa S, Varga J.   Animal models of scleroderma. Methods Mol Med. 2004;102:377-93.
PMID: 15286396 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
10.  Lakos G, Takagawa S, Chen SJ, Ferreira AM, Han G, Masuda K, Wang XJ, DiPietro LA, Varga J.      
Targeted disruption of TGF-beta/Smad3 signaling modulates skin fibrosis in a mouse model of scleroderma.
Am J Pathol. 2004 Jul;165(1):203-17.  PMID: 15215176 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
11.  Sodin-Semrl S, Spagnolo A, Mikus R, Barbaro B, Varga J, Fiore S.        
Opposing regulation of interleukin-8 and NF-kappaB responses by lipoxin A4 and serum amyloid A via the common lipoxin A receptor.  Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2004 May-Aug;17(2):145-56.
PMID: 15171815 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
12.  Ghosh AK, Bhattacharyya S, Lakos G, Chen SJ, Mori Y, Varga J.  Disruption of transforming growth factor beta signaling and profibrotic responses in normal skin fibroblasts by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma.
Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Apr;50(4):1305-18.  PMID: 15077315 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
13.  Varga J.  Antifibrotic therapy in scleroderma: extracellular or intracellular targeting of activated fibroblasts?
Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2004 Apr;6(2):164-70. Review.  PMID: 15016348 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
14.  Sodin-Semrl S, Spagnolo A, Barbaro B, Varga J, Fiore S. 
Lipoxin A4 counteracts synergistic activation of human fibroblast-like synoviocytes.  Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2004 Jan-Apr;17(1):15-25.  PMID: 15000862 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
15.  Clements PJ, Seibold JR, Furst DE, Mayes M, White B, Wigley F, Weisman MD, Barr W, Moreland L, Medsger TA Jr, Steen V, Martin RW, Collier D, Weinstein A, Lally E, Varga J, Weiner SR, Andrews B, Abeles M, Wong WK.    
High-dose versus low-dose D-penicillamine in early diffuse systemic sclerosis trial: lessons learned.
Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Feb;33(4):249-63.  PMID: 14978663 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
16.  Ignat GP, Rat AC, Sychra JJ, Vo J, Varga J, Teodorescu M.  Information on diagnosis and management of systemic lupus erythematosus derived from the routine measurement of 8 nuclear autoantibodies.
J Rheumatol. 2003 Aug;30(8):1761-9. PMID: 12913932 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
17.  Mori Y, Chen SJ, Varga J.  Expression and regulation of intracellular SMAD signaling in scleroderma skin fibroblasts. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Jul;48(7):1964-78. PMID: 12847691 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]