Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Western College of Veterinary Medicine

Academic Credentials

  • DVM, Justus Liebig University, Germany
  • Dr. med. vet., Freie University, Germany
  • MSc, Ontario Veterinary College
  • PhD Ontario Veterinary College

Research Interests

Dr. Tabel's area of interest is immunology, with special interest in the immunobiology of infections by African trypanosomes. His research has been concerned with the role of NKT cells, regulatory T cells and other regulatory cells in immunity to infections by the hemoprotozoa Trypanosoma congolenseand T. brucei and how regulatory cells and cytokines affect the immunosuppression and immunopathogenesis developing during the infections.

Recent investigations in Dr. Tabel's lab have shown that small amounts of killed (sonicated) trypanosomes injected intradermally enhance susceptibility to intradermal challenge by trypanosomes (Wei et al. 2011). The most important questions to be answered are the following: Is there a way to prevent the induction of immunosuppression during intradermal injection of killed parasites? Thus, can one develop a successful strategy for producing a vaccine?

Publications

Tabel H, Wei G, Bull HJ. 2013. “Immunosuppression: cause for failures of vaccines against African Trypanosomiases.” PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 7(3):e2090. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002090. Epub 2013 Mar 14.

Tabel H, Wei G, Bull H.  2012.  "Immunosuppression, induced upon intradermal infections, causes failures of vaccines against African trypanosomiases."(PDF)

Lu W, Wei G, Pan W, Tabel H. 2011. “Trypanosoma congolense infections: induced nitric oxide inhibits parasite growth in vivo.” Journal of Parisitology Research. Article ID 316067, doi:10.1155/2011/316067.

Wei G, Bull H, Zhou X, Tabel H. 2011. “Intradermal infections of mice by low numbers of African trypanosomes are controlled by innate resistance but enhance susceptibility to reinfections." Journal of Infectious Diseases. 203(3): 418-429.

Johnson D, Harms NJ, Larter NC, Elkin BT, Tabel H, Wei G. 2010. “Serum biochemistry, serology, and parasitology of boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in the Northwest Territories, Canada.” Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 46(4): 1096-107.

Marcoux V, Wei G, Tabel H, Bull HJ. 2010. “Characterization of major surface protease homologues of Trypanosoma congolense.” Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. Article ID 418157, doi:10.1155/2010/418157.

Tabel H, Wei G, Shi M. 2008. "T cells and immunopathogenesis of experimental African trypanosomiasis." Immunol. Rev. 225: 128-139 (invited review).

Wei G, and Tabel H. 2008. "Regulatory T cells prevent control of experimental African trypanosomiasis." Journal of Immunology. 180: 2514-2521.

Shi M, Wei G, Tabel H. 2007. "Trypanosoma congolense infections: MHC class II-restricted immune responses mediate either protection or disease, depending on IL-10 function." Parasite Immunol. 29: 107-111.

Shi M, Wang* CR, Wei G, Pan W, Appleyard G, Tabel H. 2006. "Experimental African trypanosomiasis: lack of effective CD1d-restricted antigen presentation." Parasite Immunol. 28: 643-647.

Pan W, Ogunremi O, Wei G, Shi M, Tabel H. 2006. "CR3 (CD11b/CD18) is the major macrophage receptor for IgM antibody-mediated phagocytosis of African trypanosomes: diverse effect on subsequent synthesis of TNF- a and nitric oxide." Microb. Infect. 8: 1209-1218.

Shi M, Wei G, Pan W, Tabel H. 2006. "Experimental African trypanosomiasis: a subset of pathogenic, IFN-g-producing, MHC-II-restricted CD4+ T cells mediates early mortality in highly susceptible mice." J. Immunol. 176: 1724-1732.

Shi M, Wei G, Pan W, Tabel H. 2005. "Impaired Kupffer cells in highly susceptible mice infected with Trypanosoma congolense." Infect. Immun. 73 (12): 8393-8396.

Shi M, Wei G, Pan W, Tabel H. 2004. "Trypanosoma congolense infections: antibody-mediated phagocytosis by Kupffer cells." J. Leuk. Biol. 76(2): 399-405.

Shi M, Pan W, Tabel H. 2003. "Experimental African trypanosomiasis: IFN-g- mediates early mortality." Eur. J. of Immunol. 33(1): 108-118.

Tabel H, Kaushik RS, Uzonna J. 2000. "Susceptibility and resistance to Trypanosoma congolense infections."  Microbes and Infection. 2 (13): 1619-1629. (Invited review)

Kaushik RS, Uzonna JE, Zhang Y, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 2000. "Innate resistance to experimental African trypanosomiasis: Differences in cytokine production (TNF-a, IL-6, IL-10 and IL-12) by bone marrow-derived macrophages from resistant and susceptible mice." Cytokine. 12: 1024-1034.

Tabel H, Kaushik RS, Uzonna J. 1999. "Experimental African trypanosomiasis: differences in cytokine and nitric oxide production by macrophages from resistant and suceptible mice." Pathobiology. 67: 273-276.

Kaushik RS, Uzonna JE, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 1999. "Innate resistance to Trypanosoma congolense infections: Differential production of nitirc oxide by macrophages from susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57B1/6 mice." Exp. Parasitol. 92: 131-143.

Uzonna JE, Kaushik RS, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 1999. "Cytokine and antibody responsis in two inbred strains of mice that differ in resistance to experimental Trypanosoma congolense infections." Parasite Immunol. 21: 57-71.

Kaushik RS, Uzonna JE, Radzioch D, Gordon JR Tabel H, 1998. "Innate resistance to experimental Trypanosoma congolense infection: Differences in IL-10 synthesis by macrophage cell lines from resistant and susceptible inbred mice." Parasite Immunol. 21: 119-131.

Uzonna JE,  Kaushik RS, Zhang Y, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 1998. "Experimental murine Trypanosoma congolense infections. I. Administration of anti-IFN-g antibodies alters trypanosome-susceptible mice to ressistant-like phenotype." J. Immunol. 161: 5507-5515.

Uzonna JE, Kaushik RS, Zhang Y, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 1998. "Experimental murine Trypanosoma congolense infections. II. Role of splenic adherent CD3+ Thy1.2+ TCRab-gd-CD4+8- and CD3+ Thy1.2+TCR ab-gd-CD4-8- cells in the production of IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-g and in trypanosome-elicited immunosuppression."  J. Immunol. 161: 6189-6197.

Uzonna JE, Kaushik RS, Gordon JR, Tabel H. 1998. "Immunoregulation in experimental murine Trypanosoma congolense infection: anti-IL-10 antibodies reverse trypanosome-mediated suppression of lymphocyte proliferation in vitro and moderately prolong the lifespan of genetically susceptible BALB/c mice." Parasite Immunol. 20: 293-302. 

Book Chapters:
Tabel H. 1998. "Immunology of Mustelidae." 337-342. In: Handbook of Vertebrate Immunology.  Pastoret PP, Griebel P, Bazin M, Govaerts A (eds). Academic Press, London.

Tabel H. 1998. "Complement System (Immunology of Cattle)." 469-471. In: Handbook of Vertebrate Immunology. Pastoret PP, Griebel P, Bazin M, Govaerts A (eds). Academic Press, London