Ashok Kumawat
Title: Associate Senior Lecturer School/office: School of Medical SciencesPhone: +46 19 302185
Room: C2104

About Ashok Kumawat
Ashok Kumar Kumawat is an associate senior lecturer in biomedicine with specialisation in immunology at the School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Sweden. His academic and research areas of interest are in immunology and inflammation.
Dr Ashok obtained his BSc degree in Chemistry, Botany and Zoology majors in 2002 from Rajasthan University, Jaipur, India. Then he pursued his Master’s degree in Microbiology in 2004 from Bangalore University, Bangalore, India. He had worked for 3 years in the life science industry and then he started his research career as “Research Scholar” in 2007 at Örebro University, Sweden.
Dr Ashok defended his PhD thesis entitled “Adaptive immune responses in microscopic colitis” conducted in Professor Elisabeth Hultgren Hörnqvist’s group at the School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, in the year 2013. His PhD thesis was first to describe a detailed descriptive mapping of local adaptive immune responses in the intestinal mucosa of microscopic colitis (MC) patients, that were (and are still) incomplete, but necessary to understand the pathophysiology in MC.
In 2014, Olle Engqvist byggmästare foundation awarded a two-year postdoc fellowship to Dr Ashok to carry out postdoc work in Professor Allan Mowat’s lab at the University of Glasgow. During this time, he focused on characterising the role of αvβ5 integrin on intestinal macrophages function in mice. His work revealed for the first time that intestinal macrophages express high levels of integrin αvβ5 and it is induced as monocytes differentiate into a mature intestinal macrophage population. Integrin αvβ5 also promotes phagocytosis and activates tissue remodelling pathways in the intestinal macrophages that are important in the maintenance of local homeostasis.
In 2016, he joined as senior postdoc fellow in Professor Allan Sirsjö’s group at the School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University and today he works as an associate senior lecturer in biomedicine with specialisation in immunology. He affiliates with the research environment Cardiovascular Research Centre (CVRC).
Research
His research mainly focuses on elucidating the immune responses in inflammation, particularly in the vascular system and in the intestine. He has been working on to block IL17A cytokine using small protein modules termed Affibody to suppress inflammation in experimental model of atherosclerosis and in ex vivo system using human tissues.
He has established his independent line of research focusing on elucidating the role of gut microbial derived dietary metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in vascular inflammation. He is investigating how does TMAO modulates vascular cells and immune cells function in humans.
He is exploring interactions between gut microbiota and trimethylamine N-oxide and immune responses, how these responses contribute to pathogenesis in peripheral arterial disease, which is largely unknown in this patient group. Recently he has received HÖG19 grant from the Knowledge foundation (KKS) to develop this project.
His research work also focuses on to evaluate the role of intestinal macrophages in fibrosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Teaching
Dr Ashok serves as an experienced problem-based learning (PBL) tutor and project supervisor for the Örebro University’s medical program. He has also been teaching advanced immunology laboratory techniques in the medical program.
He is also involved in teaching advanced immunology and laboratory techniques in the international Master’s program Experimental medicine. He also supervises students for their Master’s thesis projects and Bachelor thesis projects in Biomedical analyst program.
He is also a seminar leader for the PhD course “General scientific methods in medical sciences”. He is co-supervising one PhD student.
Research projects
Active projects
Research teams
Publications
Articles in journals
- Kumawat, A. K. , Zegeye, M. M. , Paramel Varghese, G. , Baumgartner, R. , Gisterå, A. , Amegavie, O. , Hellberg, S. , Jin, H. & et al. (2022). Inhibition of IL17A Using an Affibody Molecule Attenuates Inflammation in ApoE-Deficient Mice. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 9.
- Hayderi, A. , Ljungberg, L. , Kumawat, A. K. & Sirsjö, A. (2021). Function of viperin in human aortic SMCS and its relevance for atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis, 331, E88-E88.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Paramel Varghese, G. , Jayaprakash, K. & Demirel, I. (2021). Human Renal Fibroblasts, but Not Renal Epithelial Cells, Induce IL-1β Release during a Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection In Vitro. Cells, 10 (12).
- Zegeye, M. M. , Kumawat, A. K. , Matic, L. , Lengquist, M. , Hyderi, A. , Hedin, U. , Sirsjö, A. & Ljungberg, L. (2021). IL-6 trans-signaling regulates vascular endothelial laminin profile and inflammatory responses: Possible mechanism for immune cell recruitment during atherosclerosis?. Atherosclerosis, 331, E61-E61.
- Kapetanaki, S. , Kumawat, A. K. , Persson, K. & Demirel, I. (2021). The Fibrotic Effects of TMAO on Human Renal Fibroblasts Is Mediated by NLRP3, Caspase-1 and the PERK/Akt/mTOR Pathway. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22 (21).
- Holster, S. , Rode, J. , Bohr, J. , Kumawat, A. K. , Veress, G. , Hultgren Hörnquist, E. , Brummer, R. J. & König, J. (2020). Faecal microbiota transfer in patients with microscopic colitis: a pilot study in collagenous colitis. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 55 (12), 1454-1466.
- Zegeye, M. M. , Lindkvist, M. , Fälker, K. , Kumawat, A. K. , Paramel Varghese, G. , Grenegård, M. , Sirsjö, A. & Ljungberg, L. U. (2018). Activation of the JAK/STAT3 and PI3K/AKT pathways are crucial for IL-6 trans-signaling-mediated pro-inflammatory response in human vascular endothelial cells. Cell Communication and Signaling, 16 (1).
- Kumawat, A. K. , Yu, C. , Mann, E. A. , Schridde, A. , Finnemann, S. C. & Mowat, A. M. (2018). Expression and characterization of αvβ5 integrin on intestinal macrophages. European Journal of Immunology, 48 (7), 1181-1187.
- Gunaltay, S. , Kumawat, A. K. , Nyhlin, N. , Bohr, J. , Tysk, C. , Hultgren, O. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2015). Enhanced levels of chemokines and their receptors in the colon of microscopic colitis patients indicate mixed immune cell recruitment. Mediators of Inflammation.
- Daferera, N. , Kumawat, A. K. , Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. , Ignatova, S. , Ström, M. & Münch, A. (2015). Fecal stream diversion and mucosal cytokine levels in collagenous colitis: A case report. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 21 (19), 6065-6071.
- Sundin, J. , Rangel, I. , Kumawat, A. K. , Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. & Brummer, R. J. (2014). Aberrant mucosal lymphocyte number and subsets in the colon of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome patients. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 49 (9), 1068-1075.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Nyhlin, N. , Wickbom, A. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. , Hultgren, O. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2014). An In Vitro Model to Evaluate the Impact of the Soluble Factors from the Colonic Mucosa of Collagenous Colitis Patients on T Cells: Enhanced Production of IL-17A and IL-10 from Peripheral CD4(+) T Cells. Mediators of Inflammation.
- Günaltay, S. , Nyhlin, N. , Kumawat, A. K. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. , Hultgren, O. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2014). Differential expression of interleukin-1/Toll-like receptor signaling regulators in microscopic and ulcerative colitis. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 20 (34), 12249-12259.
- Göranzon, C. , Kumawat, A. K. , Hultgren-Hörnqvist, E. , Tysk, C. , Eriksson, S. , Bohr, J. & Nyhlin, N. (2013). Immunohistochemical characterization of lymphocytes in microscopic colitis. Journal of Crohn's and Colitis, 7 (10), e434-e442.
- Götlind, Y. Y. , Fritsch Fredin, M. , Kumawat, A. K. , Strid, H. , Willén, R. , Rangel, I. , Bland, P. W. & Hultgren Hörnquist, E. (2013). Interplay between Th1 and Th17 effector T cell pathways in the pathogenesis of spontaneous colitis and colon cancer in the Gai2-deficient mouse. International Immunology, 25 (1), 35-44.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Strid, H. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2013). Microscopic colitis patients demonstrate a mixed Th17/Tc17 and Th1/Tc1 mucosal cytokine profile. Molecular Immunology, 55 (3-4), 355-364.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Strid, H. , Elgbratt, K. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. & Hultgren Hörnquist, E. (2013). Microscopic colitis patients have increased frequencies of Ki67+proliferating and CD45RO+ active/memory CD8+ and CD4+8+ mucosal T cells. Journal of Crohn's & Colitis, 7 (9), 694-705.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Elgbratt, K. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2013). Reduced T cell receptor excision circle levels in the colonic mucosa of microscopic colitis patients indicate local proliferation rather than homing of peripheral lymphocytes to the inflamed mucosa. BioMed Research International.
- Elmabsout, A. A. , Kumawat, A. K. , Saenz-Méndez, P. , Krivospitskaya, O. , Sävenstrand, H. , Olofsson, P. S. , Eriksson, L. A. , Strid, Å. & et al. (2012). Cloning and functional studies of a splice variant of CYP26B1 expressed in vascular cells. PLOS ONE, 7 (5).
Conference papers
- Strid, H. , Kumawat, A. , Tysk, C. , Hultgren Hörnquist, E. & Bohr, J. (2012). Genuttrycket för Renin och IL-6 i kolonmucosan är förändrad vid kollagen kolit. Paper presented at Svenska Gastrodagarna, Malmö, 8-11 Maj, 2012.
- Sundin, J. , Kumawat, A. K. , Rangel, I. , Brummer, R. & Hultgren Hörnquist, E. (2012). Karakterisering av T-lymfocyter från tarmmukosan hos patienter med postinfektiös IBS. Paper presented at Svenska Gastrodagarna, Malmö 8-11 Maj 2012.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Strid, H. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. & Hultgren-Hörnquist, E. (2012). Patienter med mikroskopisk kolit har blandad Th1/Th17 samt CTL-associerad cytokinprofil. Paper presented at Svenska Gastrodagarna, Malmö, 8-11 Maj, 2012.
- Kumawat, A. K. , Strid, H. , Elgbratt, K. , Nyhlin, N. , Tysk, C. , Bohr, J. & Hultgren Hörnquist, E. (2011). Collagenous colitis patients demonstrate a Th1/CTL-associated gene expression profile with increased frequencies of Ki67+ proliferating and CD45RO+ activated/ memory CD8+ and CD4+8+ mucosal T cells. Paper presented at International Congress of Mucosal Immunology, Paris, July 5-9, 2011.
- Göranzon, C. , Hultgren Hörnquist, E. , Kumawat, A. K. , Halfvarson, J. , Tysk, C. , Eriksson, S. , Bohr, J. & Nyhlin, N. (2010). Immunohistochemical characterization of lymphocytes in microscopic colitis. Paper presented at 18th United European Gastroenterology Week, Barcelona, Oct, 2010.
Doctoral theses, comprehensive summaries
- Kumawat, A. K. (2013). Adaptive immune response in the intestinal mucosa of microscopic colitis patients. (Doctoral dissertation). (Comprehensive summary) Örebro: Örebro universitet.
Manuscripts
- Holster, S. , Rode, J. , Bohr, J. , Kumawat, A. K. , Hultgren Hörnquist, E. , Brummer, R. J. & König, J. Faecal microbiota transfer in patients with microscopic colitis : A proof-of-concept study in collagenous colitis.
- Zegeye, M. M. , Kumawat, A. K. , Matic, L. , Lengquist, M. , Hayderi, A. , Hedin, U. , Sirsjö, A. & Ljungberg, L. U. IL-6 trans-signaling regulates vascular endothelial laminin profile and inflammatory responses : possible mechanism for immune cell recruitment during atherosclerosis?.