Analysis Of Antigen Receptor Sharing By T And B Lymphocytes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$540,356.00
Summary
To survive an infection the immune system must rapidly expand the number of immune cells that have pathogen-specific receptors that recognise, and therefore specifically combat, the infection. This normally occurs through proliferation of the immune cells. We have found that in addition to proliferation, the number of cells with these receptors can be increased by a process of receptor transfer between cells. This grant aims to further advance our understanding of this novel phenomenon.
Antigen Receptor Sharing By Lymphocytes During An Immune Response
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$286,328.00
Summary
A successful immune response relies on the ability of immune cells to quickly mount a specific offensive against invading foreign pathogens like bacteria or viruses. The specificity of this offensive is governed by receptors that can recognise pathogens. To survive an infection the immune system must rapidly expand the number of immune cells that have receptors that recognise, and can therefore specifically combat, the infection. The underlying theory of immunology, the clonal selection theory, ....A successful immune response relies on the ability of immune cells to quickly mount a specific offensive against invading foreign pathogens like bacteria or viruses. The specificity of this offensive is governed by receptors that can recognise pathogens. To survive an infection the immune system must rapidly expand the number of immune cells that have receptors that recognise, and can therefore specifically combat, the infection. The underlying theory of immunology, the clonal selection theory, states that this expansion is mediated by the proliferation of immune cells selected on the basis of expressing a pathogen specific receptor. We hypothesise that in addition to this proliferation the immune system may also expand the number of immune cells expressing pathogen-specific receptors by transferring these receptors between cells by a means of cell-membrane sharing. Indeed, we have evidence that this does occur both in the test tube and in animals and can function to amplify the number of immune cells that can specifically recognise a pathogen and thereby help with immune response development. This grant aims to further advance our understanding of this novel phenomenon.Read moreRead less