Norberto Gonzalez-Juarbe is an associate professor working in the Infectious Diseases and Genomic Medicine Group. Currently, he is focused on the host responses that occur during co- and secondary bacterial infections to influenza.

Dr. Gonzalez-Juarbe began his science career researching the habitability of primary producers in the field of astrobiology. Later while working on his PhD, his research was one of the first to establish that bacterial pathogens use pore-forming toxins to deplete the lungs of alveolar macrophages through activation of necroptosis (programmed necrosis).

As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Orihuela, Dr. Gonzalez-Juarbe focused on the study of Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced cardiac damage during invasive pneumococcal disease and expanded his graduate work on how bacterial pore-forming toxins cause cell death and the immunological implications of these mechanisms.

Dr. Gonzalez-Juarbe earned his BS in microbiology from the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo and his PhD in microbiology and immunology at the University of Texas Health–San Antonio under the supervision of Dr. Molly A. Bergman.

Research Priorities

Understanding the role of programmed necrosis during secondary bacterial infections to influenza
  • Influenza infection promotes an extremely severe form of secondary bacterial pneumonia, characterized by necrotic lung damage and significantly increased mortality. We aim to identify the molecular mechanisms behind this synergism.
  • Emphasis in the role of ion dysregulation
  • Understanding the role of oxidative stress in the potentiation of necroptosis
Understanding the role of influenza infection in cardiac damage
  • We aim to discern the effects of influenza infection in the modulation of cardiomyocyte death and its effect during secondary bacterial infections
  • Discern the effect of influenza infection in bacterial adhesion molecules in the myocardium.
Understanding the role of programmed cell death pathways in the release of damage-associated molecular patterns during secondary bacterial infections to influenza
  • Integration of multiple omics technologies
  • Mechanism of how influenza initiated cellular mechanism affect bacterial induced inflammation

Publications

Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids. 2024-09-10; 35.3: 102249.
Harnessing mRNA to unleash endolysins: A new frontier in antibacterial therapy
Nelson DC, Dave UM, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 39040502
Frontiers in public health. 2024-08-09; 12.1399731.
Whole-genome sequencing-based genetic diversity, transmission dynamics, and drug-resistant mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from extrapulmonary tuberculosis patients in western Ethiopia
Chekesa B, Singh H, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Vashee S, Wiscovitch-Russo R, Dupont CL, Girma M, Kerro O, Gumi B, Ameni G
PMID: 39185123
Current issues in molecular biology. 2024-07-06; 46.7: 7114-7133.
Secondary Analysis of Human Bulk RNA-Seq Dataset Suggests Potential Mechanisms for Letrozole Resistance in Estrogen-Positive (ER+) Breast Cancer
Sutherland L, Lang J, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Pickett BE
PMID: 39057065
Tuberculosis (Edinburgh, Scotland). 2024-07-01; 147.102399.
Predictive biomarkers for latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Singh H, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Pieper R, Yu Y, Vashee S
PMID: 37648595
PLoS pathogens. 2024-05-23; 20.5: e1011669.
SARS-CoV-2 ORF8 modulates lung inflammation and clinical disease progression
McGrath ME, Xue Y, Taylor L, Dillen C, Ardanuy J, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Baracco L, Kim R, Hart R, Assad-Garcia N, Vashee S, Frieman MB
PMID: 38781259
mBio. 2024-04-10; 15.4: e0006924.
SP-CHAP, an endolysin with enhanced activity against biofilm pneumococci and nasopharyngeal colonization
Alreja AB, Appel AE, Zhu JC, Riley SP, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Nelson DC
PMID: 38470268
Critical care (London, England). 2023-04-20; 27.1: 155.
Major adverse cardiovascular events are associated with necroptosis during severe COVID-19
Wiscovitch-Russo R, Ibáñez-Prada ED, Serrano-Mayorga CC, Sievers BL, Engelbride MA, Padmanabhan S, Tan GS, Vashee S, Bustos IG, Pachecho C, Mendez L, Dube PH, Singh H, Reyes LF, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 37081485
PLoS pathogens. 2022-12-21; 18.12: e1011020.
A multiomics analysis of direct interkingdom dynamics between influenza A virus and Streptococcus pneumoniae uncovers host-independent changes to bacterial virulence fitness
Platt MP, Lin YH, Penix T, Wiscovitch-Russo R, Vashee I, Mares CA, Rosch JW, Yu Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 36542660
Frontiers in microbiology. 2022-12-12; 13.946779.
Gut and lung microbiome profiles in pregnant mice
Wiscovitch-Russo R, Taal AM, Kuelbs C, Oldfield LM, Ramar M, Singh H, Fedulov AV, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 36578567
PloS one. 2022-04-05; 17.4: e0265891.
An optimized approach for processing of frozen lung and lavage samples for microbiome studies
Wiscovitch-Russo R, Singh H, Oldfield LM, Fedulov AV, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 35381030
mBio. 2022-02-22; 13.1: e0325721.
Pandemic Influenza Infection Promotes Streptococcus pneumoniae Infiltration, Necrotic Damage, and Proteomic Remodeling in the Heart
Platt MP, Lin YH, Wiscovitch-Russo R, Yu Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 35089061
Journal of virology. 2021-09-27; 95.20: e0101021.
Kinetic Multi-omic Analysis of Responses to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Model of Severe COVID-19
Cantwell AM, Singh H, Platt M, Yu Y, Lin YH, Ikeno Y, Hubbard G, Xiang Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Dube PH
PMID: 34319784
Cell reports. 2021-06-15; 35.11: 109267.
Streptococcus pneumoniae binds to host GAPDH on dying lung epithelial cells worsening secondary infection following influenza
Park SS, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Riegler AN, Im H, Hale Y, Platt MP, Croney C, Briles DE, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 34133917
mBio. 2021-05-04; 12.3:
Streptococcus pneumoniae Binds to Host Lactate Dehydrogenase via PspA and PspC To Enhance Virulence
Park SS, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Martínez E, Hale JY, Lin YH, Huffines JT, Kruckow KL, Briles DE, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 33947761
Circulation research. 2021-03-05; 128.5: 570-584.
Influenza Causes MLKL-Driven Cardiac Proteome Remodeling During Convalescence
Lin YH, Platt M, Platt MP, Gilley RP, Brown D, Dube PH, Yu Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N
PMID: 33501852
Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP. 2020-12-01; 19.12: 2030-2047.
Global Proteome and Phosphoproteome Characterization of Sepsis-induced Kidney Injury
Lin YH, Platt MP, Fu H, Gui Y, Wang Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Zhou D, Yu Y
PMID: 32963032
Cell reports. 2020-08-25; 32.8: 108062.
Influenza-Induced Oxidative Stress Sensitizes Lung Cells to Bacterial-Toxin-Mediated Necroptosis
Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Riegler AN, Jureka AS, Gilley RP, Brand JD, Trombley JE, Scott NR, Platt MP, Dube PH, Petit CM, Harrod KS, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 32846120
Cellular microbiology. 2020-01-01; 22.1: e13115.
NAD hydrolysis by the tuberculosis necrotizing toxin induces lethal oxidative stress in macrophages
Pajuelo D, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Niederweis M
PMID: 31509891
Cell reports. 2018-07-10; 24.2: 429-440.
NAD+ Depletion Triggers Macrophage Necroptosis, a Cell Death Pathway Exploited by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Pajuelo D, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Tak U, Sun J, Orihuela CJ, Niederweis M
PMID: 29996103
Scientific reports. 2018-04-11; 8.1: 5846.
Bacterial Pore-Forming Toxins Promote the Activation of Caspases in Parallel to Necroptosis to Enhance Alarmin Release and Inflammation During Pneumonia
Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Bradley KM, Riegler AN, Reyes LF, Brissac T, Park SS, Restrepo MI, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 29643440
American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine. 2017-09-01; 196.5: 609-620.
Severe Pneumococcal Pneumonia Causes Acute Cardiac Toxicity and Subsequent Cardiac Remodeling
Reyes LF, Restrepo MI, Hinojosa CA, Soni NJ, Anzueto A, Babu BL, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Rodriguez AH, Jimenez A, Chalmers JD, Aliberti S, Sibila O, Winter VT, Coalson JJ, Giavedoni LD, Dela Cruz CS, Waterer GW, Witzenrath M, Suttorp N, Dube PH, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 28614669
PLoS pathogens. 2017-08-25; 13.8: e1006582.
Streptococcus pneumoniae in the heart subvert the host response through biofilm-mediated resident macrophage killing
Shenoy AT, Brissac T, Gilley RP, Kumar N, Wang Y, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Hinkle WS, Daugherty SC, Shetty AC, Ott S, Tallon LJ, Deshane J, Tettelin H, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 28841717
Cell death and differentiation. 2017-05-01; 24.5: 917-928.
Pore-forming toxin-mediated ion dysregulation leads to death receptor-independent necroptosis of lung epithelial cells during bacterial pneumonia
González-Juarbe N, Bradley KM, Shenoy AT, Gilley RP, Reyes LF, Hinojosa CA, Restrepo MI, Dube PH, Bergman MA, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 28387756
Annals of clinical microbiology and antimicrobials. 2017-03-29; 16.1: 19.
Killing of Serratia marcescens biofilms with chloramphenicol
Ray C, Shenoy AT, Orihuela CJ, González-Juarbe N
PMID: 28356113
PloS one. 2017-02-16; 12.2: e0172314.
YopE specific CD8+ T cells provide protection against systemic and mucosal Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infection
González-Juarbe N, Shen H, Bergman MA, Orihuela CJ, Dube PH
PMID: 28207901
PloS one. 2016-11-17; 11.11: e0166092.
A Non-Human Primate Model of Severe Pneumococcal Pneumonia
Reyes LF, Restrepo MI, Hinojosa CA, Soni NJ, Shenoy AT, Gilley RP, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Noda JR, Winter VT, de la Garza MA, Shade RE, Coalson JJ, Giavedoni LD, Anzueto A, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 27855182
Infection, genetics and evolution : journal of molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics in infectious diseases. 2016-09-01; 43.289-96.
CD8(+) T cells specific to a single Yersinia pseudotuberculosis epitope restrict bacterial replication in the liver but fail to provide sterilizing immunity
Shen H, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Blanchette K, Crimmins G, Bergman MA, Isberg RR, Orihuela CJ, Dube PH
PMID: 27268148
Infection and immunity. 2016-05-01; 84.5: 1457-69.
Infiltrated Macrophages Die of Pneumolysin-Mediated Necroptosis following Pneumococcal Myocardial Invasion
Gilley RP, González-Juarbe N, Shenoy AT, Reyes LF, Dube PH, Restrepo MI, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 26930705
PLoS pathogens. 2015-12-11; 11.12: e1005337.
Pore-Forming Toxins Induce Macrophage Necroptosis during Acute Bacterial Pneumonia
González-Juarbe N, Gilley RP, Hinojosa CA, Bradley KM, Kamei A, Gao G, Dube PH, Bergman MA, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 26659062
Infection and immunity. 2015-02-01; 83.2: 614-24.
Requirement for Serratia marcescens cytolysin in a murine model of hemorrhagic pneumonia
González-Juarbe N, Mares CA, Hinojosa CA, Medina JL, Cantwell A, Dube PH, Orihuela CJ, Bergman MA
PMID: 25422267
mBio. 2013-10-15; 4.5: e00745-13.
Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilm formation is strain dependent, multifactorial, and associated with reduced invasiveness and immunoreactivity during colonization
Blanchette-Cain K, Hinojosa CA, Akula Suresh Babu R, Lizcano A, Gonzalez-Juarbe N, Munoz-Almagro C, Sanchez CJ, Bergman MA, Orihuela CJ
PMID: 24129258
Innovative Research Programs - Infectious Disease

Mechanisms of Influenza Driven Cardiac Dysfunction

This research will give us a better understanding of the full spectrum of the pathogenesis of influenza and other viruses like it.

Astronaut Microbiome

This project aims to understand how the extreme conditions of space travel affect the microbiome. 

Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project

This project utilizes genomics approaches to confirm the identity of the remains purported to be that of Leonardo da Vinci as well as to characterize the microbial population on aging artwork.