A/Professor Phil Sutton

contact details

A/Professor Phil Sutton
Group Leader Mucosal Immunology Research
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Flemington Road
Parkville, VIC 3052

E  phil.sutton@mcri.edu.au

biography

Phil Sutton studied Biomedical Science at Bradford University, before undertaking a PhD in Immunology at Manchester University. He moved to Australia in 1992 for his first post-doctoral position, and apart from a brief spell at Institut Pasteur de Lille in France, has been here ever since. Phil has extensive experience in both academia and industry, including a period as Immunology group leader within the R&D division of CSL Limited, where he worked on vaccine development and adjuvant technologies. Phil is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow with continuous funding from the NHRMC, ARC and industry partners and is a scientific committee member of the "European Study Group on Pathogenesis and Immunology in Helicobacter Infections". He moved the Mucosal Immunology group to MCRI in 2012. The Mucosal Immunology group is focussed on examining how the host regulates bacterial pathogenesis within the gastrointestinal tract, as well as research on mucosal vaccine development.

research focus & interest

Bacterial-driven inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract is a major cause of disease. Such inflammation can arise as a result of infection by a known pathogen such as Helicobacter pylori, the main causative agent of stomach and duodenal ulcers, gastric adenocarcinoma and MALT lymphoma. Inflammatory bowel disease (which include ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) is also believed to result from bacterial-induced inflammation, although it is unclear whether the causative microbes are specific pathogens, or normal gut flora that reach the intestinal wall due to a breakdown in the mucosal barrier. It is possible IBD sufferers may include both such scenarios.
The development of these diseases is highly complex, and not all individuals infected with a specific pathogen will develop a specific disease. Most people infected with H. pylori remain asymptomatic while those that develop symptoms can suffer a range of disease states. This complexity arises from the interaction of multiple factors, including differences in the bacterial pathogens themselves, as well as environmental factors that contribute to disease susceptibility, such as smoking or high salt diet. Finally there are host genetic factors that play significant roles in determining whether an individual person is susceptible or resistant to disease development.
It is this last feature that is a core focus of our research. We are interested in host genetic factors that contribute to susceptibility or resistance to diseases that result from bacterial-driven inflammation of the GI tract. In this regard we have several projects exploring the role that novel host factors play in regulating the severity of the inflammatory response mounted by a host to infection with a bacterial pathogen in the GI tract.
Further, we are interested in vaccine strategies that allow the development of vaccines with improved effectiveness against mucosal pathogens. This has a particular emphasis on mucosal vaccine delivery.

publications

Stent A, Every A & Sutton P.(2012) Helicobacter pyloridefense against oxidative attack. American Journal of Physiology: Gastrointestinal and liver physiologyAccepted 22^nd Dec 2011. (IF=3.52)

Ng G, Every A, McGuckin M & Sutton P. (2012) Increased Helicobacter feliscolonisation in male 129/Sv mice fails to suppress gastritis. Gut MicrobesAccepted 22^nd Dec 2011.

Sutton P. (2011) Vaccinating againstHelicobacter pylori: dissecting the mechanism.Gastroenterology141: 1149-1151. (IF=12.03)

Every A, Ng G, Skene C, Harbour S, Walduck A, McGuckin M &Sutton P. (2011) Localized suppression of inflammation at sites ofHelicobacter pyloricolonisation.Infection and Immunity79: 4186-4192. (IF=4.20)

Sheng Y, Lourie R, Lindén S, Jeffery P, Roche D, Tran T, Png C, Waterhouse N,Sutton P, Florin T & McGuckin M. (2011) The MUC13 cell surface mucin protects against intestinal inflammation by inhibiting epithelial cell apoptosis.Gut. 60: 1661-1670. (IF=9.36)

McGuckin M, Linden S,Sutton P& Florin T. (2011) Mucin Dynamics and Enteric Pathogens.Nature Reviews Microbiology. 9: 265-278. (IF=17.64)

Vujanic A, Wee J, Snibson K, Edwards S, Pearse M, Quinn C, Moloney M, Taylor S, Scheerlinck J-P &Sutton P. (2010) Combined mucosal and systemic immunity following pulmonary delivery of ISCOMATRIX™ adjuvanted recombinant antigens.Vaccine28: 2593-2597 (IF=3.62)

Wee J, Chionh Y-T, Ng G, Harbour S, Allison C, Pagel C, Mackie E, Mitchell H, Ferrero R &Sutton P(2010) Protease Activated Receptor-1 down-regulates the murine inflammatory and humoral response toHelicobacter pylori.Gastroenterology138: 573-582. (IF = 12.03)

Linden S, Yong H, Every A, Miles K, Skoog E, Florin T,Sutton P& McGuckin M (2009) MUC1 limitsHelicobacter pyloriinfection both by steric hindrance and by acting as a releasable decoy.PLoS Pathogens. 5: e1000617. (IF = 8.98)

Chionh Y-T, Wee J, Every A, Ng G &Sutton P(2009) M-cell targeting of whole killed bacteria induces protective immunity against gastrointestinal pathogens.Infection and Immunity77: 2962-2970. (IF = 4.20)

Cripps A,Sutton P, Beagley K, Robertson S & Dunkley M (2008) Meeting Report Special Interest Group in Mucosal Immunology Workshop, Australasian Society for Immunology, Sydney, Australia, 2 December 2007.Immunology and Cell Biology86: 557-561. (IF=4.20)

Scheerlinck J-P, Snibson K, Bowles V &Sutton P(2008) Biomedical applications of sheep models: From asthma to vaccines.Trends in Biotechnology26: 259-266. (IF=6.91)

Linden S,Sutton P, Karlsson N, Korolik V, McGuckin M (2008) Mucins in the mucosal barrier to bacterial infection.Mucosal Immunology1: 183-197. [Review]. One of the top ten accessed articles forMucosal Immunologyin 2008. (IF=3.63)

McGuckin M, Every A, Skene C, Linden S, Chionh Y-T, Swierczak A, McAuley J, Harbour S, Kaparakis M, Ferrero R &Sutton P(2007) Muc1 mucin limits bothHelicobacter pyloricolonization of the murine gastric mucosa and associated gastritis.Gastroenterology133: 1210-1218. Selected by Faculty of 1000; FFa 8 (Must Read). (IF=12.03)