Director of the Maternal-Fetal Immunobiology Unit, Wayne State University Perinatal Initiative in support of the Perinatology Research Branch, NICHD/NIH/DHHS
Associate Professor with Tenure, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine
EDUCATION
Ph.D. – Chemical-Biological sciences with an emphasis on Cellular Immunology & Parturition, National Polytechnic Institute, National School of Biological Sciences/National Institute of Perinatology, Mexico City, Mexico
M.Sc. – Chemical-Biological sciences with an emphasis on Chemokine Biology & Parturition, National Polytechnic Institute, National School of Biological Sciences/National Institute of Perinatology, Mexico City, Mexico
Chemist, Bacteriologist, Parasitologist – National School of Biological Sciences, National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico City, Mexico
POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING
University of Adelaide, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Postdoctoral Fellow in Reproductive Immunology.
University of Alberta, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Edmonton, AB, Canada. Postdoctoral Fellow in Physiology of Pregnancy and Parturition.
RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Provided a mechanism whereby alarmins induce sterile intra-amniotic inflammation and preterm labor and birth, known as the activation of the inflammasome
Discovered the role of the inflammasome, a large protein complex in the cell cytoplasm that activates a pro-inflammatory response, in spontaneous term and preterm labor
Discovered therapeutic strategies to prevent spontaneous preterm labor: Inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex, and activation of the PPARgamma pathway
Provided evidence that there is a unique cellular microenvironment at the human maternal-fetal interface in spontaneous term and preterm labor
Described the immune cellular response in the amniotic cavity of women with normal and complicated pregnancies
Determined the origin of amniotic neutrophils in the setting of intra-amniotic inflammation. Neutrophils are of fetal origin in spontaneous preterm labor, as compared to mostly maternal origin in term labor
Discovery of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in the amniotic cavity and chorioamniotic membranes in the setting of intra-amniotic infection
Described the immune mechanisms whereby vaginal progesterone prevents preterm labor and birth
RESEARCH INTERESTS
The mechanisms whereby damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) induce sterile intra-amniotic inflammation and spontaneous preterm labor and birth
The function of leukocytes in the amniotic cavity of women with intra-amniotic infection/inflammation
The homeostatic role of innate immune cells in late gestation in order to develop strategies to prevent inflammation-induced preterm labor
The roles of effector and regulatory T cells in spontaneous preterm labor
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Effector T cells in Preterm Labor: Effector and Activated T Cells Induce Preterm Labor and Birth That Is Prevented by Treatment with Progesterone. Arenas-Hernandez M, Romero R, Xu Y, Panaitescu B, Garcia-Flores V, Miller D, Ahn H, Done B, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Tarca AL, Sanchez-Torres C, Gomez-Lopez N. J Immunol. 2019 May 1;202(9):2585-2608. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801350. Epub 2019 Mar 27.
[WATCH VIDEO]
Fetal T cells AF: Fetal T Cell Activation in the Amniotic Cavity during Preterm Labor: A Potential Mechanism for a Subset of Idiopathic Preterm Birth. Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Xu Y, Miller D, Arenas-Hernandez M, Garcia-Flores V, Panaitescu B, Galaz J, Hsu CD, Para R, Berry SM.
J Immunol. 2019 Oct 1;203(7):1793-1807. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1900621. Epub 2019 Sep 6.
[WATCH VIDEO]
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Xu Y, Miller D, Arenas-Hernandez M, Garcia-Flores V, Panaitescu B, Galaz J, Hsu CD, Para R, Berry SM. Fetal T Cell Activation in the Amniotic Cavity during Preterm Labor: A Potential Mechanism for a Subset of Idiopathic Preterm Birth. J Immunol. 2019 Sep 6. pii: ji1900621. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.190062 1. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31492740. [WATCH VIDEO]
Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. Reducing maternal mortality: can elabela help in this fight? Lancet. 2019 Jul 6;394(10192):8-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30543-4. Epub 2019 Jul 4. PubMed PMID: 31282362.
Berkowitz BA, Romero R, Podolsky RH, Lins-Childers KM, Shen Y, Rosales T, Wadghiri YZ, Hoang DM, Arenas-Hernandez M, Garcia-Flores V, Schwenkel G, Panaitescu B, Gomez-Lopez N. QUEST MRI assessment of fetal brain oxidative stress in utero. Neuroimage. 2019 Oct 15;200:601-606. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.069. Epub 2019 May 31. PubMed PMID: 31158477; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6703912.
Arenas-Hernandez M, Romero R, Xu Y, Panaitescu B, Garcia-Flores V, Miller D, Ahn H, Done B, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Tarca AL, Sanchez-Torres C, Gomez-Lopez N. Effector and Activated T Cells Induce Preterm Labor and Birth That Is Prevented by Treatment with Progesterone. J Immunol. 2019 May 1;202(9):2585-2608. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801350. Epub 2019 Mar 27. PubMed PMID: 30918041; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6570421. [WATCH VIDEO]
Slutsky R, Romero R, Xu Y, Galaz J, Miller D, Done B, Tarca AL, Gregor S, Hassan SS, Leng Y, Gomez-Lopez N. Exhausted and Senescent T Cells at the Maternal-Fetal Interface in Preterm and Term Labor. J Immunol Res. 2019 May 23;2019:3128010. doi: 10.1155/2019/3128010. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31263712; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6556261.
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Garcia-Flores V, Leng Y, Miller D, Hassan SS, Hsu CD, Panaitescu B. Inhibition of the NLRP3 inflammasome can prevent sterile intra-amniotic inflammation, preterm labor/birth, and adverse neonatal outcomes†. Biol Reprod. 2019 May 1;100(5):1306-1318. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioy264. PubMed PMID: 30596885; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6497524. This paper is the first evidence that sterile intra-amniotic inflammation can be treated! Up to date, this clinical condition lacks treatment.
Faro J, Romero R, Schwenkel G, Garcia-Flores V, Arenas-Hernandez M, Leng Y, Xu Y, Miller D, Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. Intra-amniotic inflammation induces preterm birth by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome†. Biol Reprod. 2019 May 1;100(5):1290-1305. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioy261. PubMed PMID: 30590393; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6698670.
Garcia-Flores V, Romero R, Miller D, Xu Y, Done B, Veerapaneni C, Leng Y, Arenas-Hernandez M, Khan N, Panaitescu B, Hassan SS, Alvarez-Salas LM, Gomez-Lopez N. Inflammation-Induced Adverse Pregnancy and Neonatal Outcomes Can Be Improved by the Immunomodulatory Peptide Exendin-4. Front Immunol. 2018 Jun 18;9:1291. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01291. eCollection 2018. PMID: 29967606. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29967606
Frascoli M, Coniglio L, Witt R, Jeanty C, Fleck-Derderian S, Myers DE, Lee TH, Keating S, Busch MP, Norris PJ, Tang Q, Cruz G, Barcellos LF, Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, MacKenzie TC. Alloreactive fetal T cells promote uterine contractility in preterm labor via IFN-γ and TNF-α. Sci Transl Med. 2018 Apr 25;10(438). pii: eaan2263. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aan2263. PMID: 29695455. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29500850
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Xu Y, Miller D, Leng Y, Panaitescu B, Silva P, Faro J, Alhousseini A, Gill N, Hassan SS, Hsu CD. The immunophenotype of amniotic fluid leukocytes in normal and complicated pregnancies. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2018 Apr;79(4):e12827. doi: 10.1111/aji.12827. Epub 2018 Mar 3. PMID: 29500850. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29500850
Miller D, Romero R, Unkel R, Xu Y, Vadillo-Ortega F, Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. CD71+ erythroid cells from neonates born to women with preterm labor regulate cytokine and cellular responses. J Leukoc Biol. 2018 Apr;103(4):761-775. doi: 10.1002/JLB.5A0717-291RRR. Epub 2018 Feb 1. PMID: 29389020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29389020
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Xu Y, Leng Y, Garcia-Flores V, Miller D, Jacques SM, Hassan SS, Faro J, Alsamsam A, Alhousseini A, Gomez-Roberts H, Panaitescu B, Yeo L, Maymon E. Are amniotic fluid neutrophils in women with intraamniotic infection and/or inflammation of fetal or maternal origin? Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Sep 28. pii: S0002-9378(17)31128-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.09.013. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28964823. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28964823
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Plazyo O, Schwenkel G, Garcia-Flores V, Unkel R, Xu Y, Leng Y, Hassan SS, Panaitescu B, Cha J, Dey SK. Preterm labor in the absence of acute histologic chorioamnionitis is characterized by cellular senescence of the chorioamniotic membranes. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Nov;217(5):592.e1-592.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2017.08.008. Epub 2017 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 28847437. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28847437
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Garcia-Flores V, Xu Y, Leng Y, Alhousseini A, Hassan SS, Panaitescu B. Amniotic fluid neutrophils can phagocytize bacteria: A mechanism for microbial killing in the amniotic cavity. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2017 Oct;78(4). doi: 10.1111/aji.12723. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PubMed PMID: 28703488; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5623137. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28703488
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Arenas-Hernandez M, Schwenkel G, St Louis D, Hassan SS, Mial TN. In vivo activation of invariant natural killer T cells induces systemic and local alterations in T-cell subsets prior to preterm birth. Clin Exp Immunol. 2017 Aug;189(2):211-225. doi: 10.1111/cei.12968. Epub 2017 May 10. PubMed PMID: 28369855; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5508324. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28369855
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Xu Y, Garcia-Flores V, Leng Y, Panaitescu B, Miller D, Abrahams VM, Hassan SS. Inflammasome assembly in the chorioamniotic membranes during spontaneous labor at term. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2017 May;77(5). doi: 10.1111/aji.12648. Epub 2017 Feb 24. PubMed PMID: 28233423; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5429868. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=28233423
Plazyo O, Romero R, Unkel R, Balancio A, Mial TN, Xu Y, Dong Z, Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. HMGB1 Induces an Inflammatory Response in the Chorioamniotic Membranes That Is Partially Mediated by the Inflammasome. Biol Reprod. 2016 Dec;95(6):130. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.116.144139. Epub 2016 Nov 2. PubMed PMID: 27806943; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5315428. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=27806943
Xu Y, Romero R, Miller D, Kadam L, Mial TN, Plazyo O, Garcia-Flores V, Hassan SS, Xu Z, Tarca AL, Drewlo S, Gomez-Lopez N. An M1-like Macrophage Polarization in Decidual Tissue during Spontaneous Preterm Labor That Is Attenuated by Rosiglitazone Treatment. J Immunol. 2016 Mar 15;196(6):2476-2491. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1502055. Epub 2016 Feb 17. PubMed PMID: 26889045; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4779725. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=26889045
St Louis D, Romero R, Plazyo O, Arenas-Hernandez M, Panaitescu B, Xu Y, Milovic T, Xu Z, Bhatti G, Mi QS, Drewlo S, Tarca AL, Hassan SS, Gomez-Lopez N. Invariant NKT Cell Activation Induces Late Preterm Birth That Is Attenuated by Rosiglitazone. J Immunol. 2016 Feb 1;196(3):1044-59. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1501962. Epub 2016 Jan 6. PubMed PMID: 26740111; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4724534. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=26740111
Gomez-Lopez N, Romero R, Plazyo O, Panaitescu B, Furcron AE, Miller D, Roumayah T, Flom E, Hassan SS. Intra-Amniotic Administration of HMGB1 Induces Spontaneous Preterm Labor and Birth. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2016 Jan;75(1):3-7. doi: 10.1111/aji.12443. PubMed PMID: 26781934; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5029853.
Gomez-Lopez N, Olson DM, Robertson SA. Interleukin-6 controls uterine Th9 cells and CD8(+) T regulatory cells to accelerate parturition in mice. Immunol Cell Biol. 2016 Jan;94(1):79-89. doi: 10.1038/icb.2015.63. Epub 2015 Jun 15. PubMed PMID: 26073576. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=26073576
Furcron AE, Romero R, Plazyo O, Unkel R, Xu Y, Hassan SS, Chaemsaithong P, Mahajan A, Gomez-Lopez N. Vaginal progesterone, but not 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate, has antiinflammatory effects at the murine maternal-fetal interface. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2015 Dec;213(6):846.e1-846.e19. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.08.010. Epub 2015 Aug 8. PubMed PMID: 26264823; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4729364. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=26264823
Arenas-Hernandez M, Romero R, St Louis D, Hassan SS, Kaye EB, Gomez-Lopez N. An imbalance between innate and adaptive immune cells at the maternal-fetal interface occurs prior to endotoxin-induced preterm birth. Cell Mol Immunol. 2016 Jul;13(4):462-73. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2015.22. Epub 2015 Apr 6. PubMed PMID: 25849119; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4947814. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=25849119
Gomez-Lopez N, StLouis D, Lehr MA, Sanchez-Rodriguez EN, Arenas-Hernandez M. Immune cells in term and preterm labor. Cell Mol Immunol. 2014 Nov;11(6):571-81. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2014.46. Epub 2014 Jun 23. Review. PubMed PMID: 24954221; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4220837. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=24954221
Gomez-Lopez N, Vega-Sanchez R, Castillo-Castrejon M, Romero R, Cubeiro-Arreola K, Vadillo-Ortega F. Evidence for a role for the adaptive immune response in human term parturition. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2013 Mar;69(3):212-30. doi: 10.1111/aji.12074. Epub 2013 Jan 24. PubMed PMID: 23347265; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3600361. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=23347265
Gomez-Lopez N, Laresgoiti-Servitje E. T regulatory cells: regulating both term and preterm labor? Immunol Cell Biol. 2012 Nov;90(10):919-20. doi: 10.1038/icb.2012.48. Epub 2012 Oct 2. PubMed PMID: 23032368. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=23032368
Gomez-Lopez N, Guilbert LJ, Olson DM. Invasion of the leukocytes into the fetal-maternal interface during pregnancy. J Leukoc Biol. 2010 Oct;88(4):625-33. doi: 10.1189/jlb.1209796. Epub 2010 Jun 2. Review. PubMed PMID: 20519637. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=20519637
Gomez-Lopez N, Laresgoiti-Servitje E, Olson DM, Estrada-Gutiérrez G, Vadillo-Ortega F. The role of chemokines in term and premature rupture of the fetal membranes: a review. Biol Reprod. 2010 May;82(5):809-14. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.109.080432. Epub 2010 Jan 20. Review. PubMed PMID: 20089887. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=20089887
Laresgoiti-Servitje E, Gómez-López N, Olson DM. An immunological insight into the origins of pre-eclampsia. Hum Reprod Update. 2010 Sep-Oct;16(5):510-24. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmq007. Epub 2010 Apr 12. Review. Erratum in: Hum Reprod Update. 2011 Mar-Apr;17(2):291. PubMed PMID: 20388637. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=20388637
Gomez-Lopez N, Estrada-Gutierrez G, Jimenez-Zamudio L, Vega-Sanchez R, Vadillo-Ortega F. Fetal membranes exhibit selective leukocyte chemotaxic activity during human labor. J Reprod Immunol. 2009 Jun;80(1-2):122-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2009.01.002. Epub 2009 Apr 29. PubMed PMID: 19406481. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=19406481
