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T cell receptor control of T cell fate
| Third-party funded project |
| Project title |
T cell receptor control of T cell fate |
| Principal Investigator(s) |
Palmer, Ed
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| Project Members |
Hausmann, Barbara
Wyss, Lena
Galati-Fournier, Virginie
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| Organisation / Research unit |
Departement Biomedizin / Transplantation Immunology and Nephrology (Palmer/Steiger),
Bereich Medizinische Fächer (Klinik) / Exp. Transplantationsimmunologie und Nephrologie (Palmer) |
| Project start |
01.10.2013 |
| Probable end |
30.09.2016 |
| Status |
Completed |
| Abstract |
The strength of the adaptive immune system lies in the enormous number of lymphocytes, which provide protection from an enormous number of pathogens. In generating such a large number of lymphocytes it’s inevitable that the immune system develops some cells that are autoimmune. Fortunately, the body has several mechanisms to remove these autoimmune cells. For T lymphocytes, one important mechanism occurs in the thymus and is called negative selection. The general rule is that T cells with a high affinity for self-antigens are removed by programmed cell death.
One project examines the relationship between the T cell affinity for self-antigen and negative selection. The goal is to determine the molecular mechanism behind the removal of dangerous T cells from the developing immune system. We are also working on a mathematical model to describe the precision of negative selection. A second project involves understanding the first steps in the activation of an autoimmune T cell. This involves activating proteins that stabilize the contact between an autoimmune T cell and a cell in the body. Finally, a third project examines how regulatory T cells control the activity of autoimmune T cells. Although self-tolerance has fascinated immunologists for 60 years, the basic molecular mechanisms are still not understood. This represents a challenging intellectual problem. A deeper understanding of self-tolerance may also lead to a deeper understanding of autoimmune diseases. |
| Keywords |
T cell, self-tolerance, thymus, negative selection, regulatory T cell, autoimmune disease |
| Financed by |
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
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25/04/2024
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