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Bernard Macatangay M.D.

  • Associate Professor of Medicine
  • Co-Director, University of Pittsburgh Immunology Specialty Lab (ACTG)
  • Associate Program Director, ID Fellowship

    Education & Training

  • Doctor of Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Medicine, 2001
  • B.S., Biology, University of the Philippines, 1996
Representative Publications

Macatangay BJC, Jackson EK, Abebe KZ, Comer D, Cyktor J, Klamar-Blain C, Borowski L, Gillespie DG, Mellors JW, Rinaldo CR, Riddler SA. A randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical trial of dipyridamole to decrease HIV-associated chronic inflammation. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2020; 221(10): 1598-1606.

Macatangay BJC, Gandhi RT, Jones RB, McMahon DK, Lalama CM, Bosch RJ, Cyktor JC, Thomas AS, Borowski L, Riddler SA, Hogg E, Stevenson E, Eron JJ, Mellors JW, Rinaldo CR. T cells with high PD-1 expression are associated with lower HIV-specific immune responses despite long-term antiretroviral therapy. AIDS. 2020; 34(1): 15-24.

Mallarino-Haeger C, Abebe KZ, Jackson EK, Zyhowski A, Klamar-Blain C, Cyktor JC, Comer D, Brand R. Brief Report: Dipyridamole decreases gut mucosal regulatory T cell frequencies among people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 2020; 85(5): 665-669.

Hixson EA, Borker PV, Jackson EK, Macatangay BJ. The adenosine pathway in HIV-associated inflammation. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2021; 8(9): ofab396.

Wada NI, Breen EC, Post WS, Stosor W, Macatangay BJ, Margolick JB. Long-term trajectories of C-reactive protein among men with and without HIV infection in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. 2021; glab190.

Macatangay BJ, Riddler S, Wheeler N, Spindler J, Lawani M, Hong F, Buffo M, Whiteside T, Kearney M, Mellors JW, Rinaldo C. Therapeutic vaccination with dendritic cells loaded with autologous HIV-1-infected apoptotic cells. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2016; 213(9): 1400-9.

Research Interests

lmmunoregulatory mechanisms can influence many aspects of the body's immune responses to different antigens, and can control inflammatory responses, thereby preventing pathology caused by persistent immune activation and inflammation. The Macatangay laboratory focuses on various immunoregulatory pathways in different inflammatory states, especially in HIV infection. Specifically, the lab aims to define the role of different immunoregulatory mechanisms in: the inflammatory state associated with chronic HIV infection; HIV persistence; and various HIV immunotherapeutic strategies, such as in therapeutic vaccination. By using specimens obtained from the various studies at the Pittsburgh Treatment and Evaluation Unit (PTEU), the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), and the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study/Women's Interagency HIV Study (MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study), the lab assesses the immunophenotype and frequencies of regulatory immune cell subsets. It also analyzes specific suppressive function and components of regulatory pathways to further understand the influence of specific immunoregulatory mechanisms in HIV pathogenesis and persistence. In doing so, Dr. Macatangay aims to improve existing or develop new immunotherapeutic strategies for the control of chronic HIV-associated inflammation and/or for the functional cure of HIV.