The Role Of Membrane Condensation In T Lymphocyte Activation And Signal Transduction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$82,421.00
Summary
T cell lymphocytes are essential cells in our immune system. They respond to signals from foreign bodies to mount an immune response. Many diseases arise from errors in their activation processes. The key steps in the translation of the initial arrival of a foreign-body to a T cell into an immune response will be examined in these studies, where we will look at the cooperation of components of the cell membrane during T cell activation. This will help us to understand and treat immune disorders.
The activation of T lymphocytes is essential part of our immune system to fend off harmful intruders. Our research aims to understand the process of T cell activation, in particular, the contribution of fats. We found that fats create a highly ordered patch at the T cell activation site. We want to understand how lipids and proteins work together to activate T cells, how this ordered regions function in T cell activation and whether dietary lipids alter these patches and thus T cell activation.