Kyriakos A. Kirou, MD, FACR

Dr. Kyriakos A. Kirou, Assistant Attending Physician at Hospital for Special Surgery, is a physician-scientist in the field of academic rheumatology. He has a special interest in the research and treatment of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus.

Appointments

Assistant Attending Physician, Hospital for Special Surgery
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College
Clinical Co-Director, Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Care

Specialty

Rheumatology

Special Expertise

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
Systemic Sclerosis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Psoriatic Arthritis

Awards

Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (KO8), 2003
Foundation global Arthritis Research Network Travel Grant, 2002
Merck 2000 Rheumatology Young Investigator, 2000
Extended Fellowship Grant Award (3 years), The SLE Foundation Inc., 1999
Fellowship Grant Award, Arthritis Foundation, New York Chapter, 1998

Affiliations

Basic Research in Autoimmune Diseases
Rheumatology Practice
Teaching
Peer-review in Immunology Research

Specialized Centers

• Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Care

Education

MD, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Residency

New York Hospital of Queens, Flushing, New York

Fellowship

Hospital for Special Surgery

Certification

Rheumatology
Internal Medicine

State Licensure

New York  

Kyriakos A. Kirou, MD, FACR is the author of the following articles on HSS.edu:

Selected Publications

Vakkalanka RK, Woo C, Kirou KA, Koshy M, Berger D, Crow MK. The Soluble Form of CD40 Ligand is Present in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Sera and Correlates with Disease Activity. Arthritis Rheum 1999; 42:871-81.

Bateman HE, Kirou KA, Paget SA, Crow MK, Yee AMF. Case Report: Remission of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) After Infection with Parvovirus B19. J Rheumatol 1999; 26:2482-84.

Kirou KA, Vakkalanka RK, Butler MJ, Crow MK. Induction of Fas Ligand-mediated Apoptosis by Interferon-alpha. Clin Immunol 2000; 95:218-26.

Kirou KA, Bateman HE, Bansal M, Schneider R, Crow MK, Fantini GA, Paget SA. Sarcoidosis Presenting with Large Vessel Vasculitis and Osteosclerosis-related Bone and Joint Pain. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2000; 18:401-03.

Chernysheva A, Kirou KA, Crow MK. T Cell Proliferation Induced by Autologous Non-T Cells is a Response to Apoptotic Cells Processed by Dendritic Cells. J Immunol 2002; 169:1241-50.

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.  

Research Description

Pathogenesis of Systemic Rheumatic Autoimmune Diseases

With his research, Dr. Kyriakos Kirou aims to characterize the activation of molecular pathways that contribute to immune system dysfunction and disease in systemic autoimmune diseases and especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE is the prototypic systemic autoimmune disease and affects primarily young women. Patients may have various clinical manifestations, some of which may be serious or life-threatening.

Our studies have focused on the measurement of the expression of IFN-alpha-inducible genes (IFIG) in freshly isolated blood cells from patients with lupus, using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology. We have shown that IFIG expression in SLE predominantly reflects IFN-alpha rather than IFN-gamma activity and that the activation of the IFN-alpha pathway in SLE is independently associated with the presence in the blood of autoantibodies against RNA-binding proteins (RBP), renal disease, increased serologic activity of the disease, disease-related damage and failure to treat with antimalarial medications. These studies have important implications for our understanding of the pathogenesis of SLE. More specifically, the independent association of anti-RBP autoantibodies with activation of the IFN-alpha pathway supports the notion that immune complexes containing these RNA-bound proteins may be responsible for induction of IFN-alpha in SLE.

In addition, our classification of lupus patients into subgroups according to the presence or absence of activation of the IFN-alpha pathway is expected to facilitate conduct of clinical studies in this notoriously heterogeneous disease. Moreover, IFIG expression, given its association with disease activity, offers promise for use as a biomarker for lupus activity in patients. We are planning further studies to test the validity of such an application. In parallel we are also studying the expression of other important genes in this disease, including those that are associated with inflammation and key cellular signaling pathways.

In summary, these studies are expected to offer new insights into the underlying molecular pathways that are responsible for lymphocyte activation in SLE, facilitate improved definition of disease subsets, and hopefully lead to new therapies for this disease.

Clinical Trials

• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Single Dose-Escalation And Multiple Dose Extension Trial Of NNC 0152-0000-0001 Administered I.V or S.C.. in Subjects with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Gleevec in the Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis
• Scleroderma Registry
• A Phase 1b Multi-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Escalation study with an open-label extension to evaluate the safety and tolerability of multiple IV doses of Medi-545, a fully Human Anti-interferon-alpha Monoclonal Antibody,
• Scleroderma Cyclophosphamide or Transplantation (SCOT) Study
• Rituximab Therapy For The Induction Of Remission And Tolerance In ANCA-Associated Vasculitis