Chemokine Mediated Collaboration Between T Cells And Dendritic Cells During Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,384.00
Summary
The immune system protects us from foreign pathogens by using multiple immune cell types. Immune cells need to migrate and interact with each other in order to function properly. When immune cells fail to migrate appropriately, autoimmune diseases or immunodeficiency may develop. By understanding the molecules regulating their migration, we can promote or inhibit immune cell function.
Polarity Regulation In T Cells: Mechanisms And Consequences.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,462.00
Summary
Advances in our understanding of how the immune system works have led to many breakthroughs in healthcare, including organ transplantation, management of autoimmune diseases and immunodeficiencies such as AIDS. To improve these treatments, we need a better understanding of how the immune system is controlled. This proposal explores the mechanisms by which immune cell signalling is regulated by spatial compartmentalisation within the cell.
Role Of The Thymus In T Cell Homeostasis During Foetal And Postnatal Life In Sheep
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$264,750.00
Summary
The mature T cell pool can arise from only two sources, either thymic export or expansion of the peripheral T cell pool or a mixture of both. The lifespan of either cell type, i.e. recent thymic emigrants or mature T cells, has considerable implications for the development of a pool of T cells able to respond to a large number of infections. Recent thymic emigrants represent a wide diversity of positively selected thymocytes exhibiting newly arising T cell specificities, but mature T cell pool e ....The mature T cell pool can arise from only two sources, either thymic export or expansion of the peripheral T cell pool or a mixture of both. The lifespan of either cell type, i.e. recent thymic emigrants or mature T cells, has considerable implications for the development of a pool of T cells able to respond to a large number of infections. Recent thymic emigrants represent a wide diversity of positively selected thymocytes exhibiting newly arising T cell specificities, but mature T cell pool expansion results in reduced diversity because of a predominant expansion of a limited number of clones. It follows that a mixing of the pool of older mature T cells with new ones just released from the thymus will introduce more variability, and hence greater adaptability into the immune system. We have developed techniques for labeling the thymus in vivo and the entire blood leukocyte pool in vivo using the long-term lymphocyte tracking dye CFSE. We can establish a cohort of labeled cells and we can, for the first time in any experimental system, track directly the survival, death or division of recent thymic emigrants and mature cells and their progeny together with their tissue homing properties and surface markers for periods of many months. This will enable us to determine the way in which the pool of mature T cells is built up during the formation of the foetal immune system and the way the mature T cell population is established and maintained in postnatal life.Read moreRead less
Competition For Polarity Influences Lymphocyte Differentiation And Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,558.00
Summary
CD46 is a protein on human cells that viruses and bacteria bind to during infection. Our laboratory has found that binding of CD46 on immune cells impairs their ability to recognize and kill target cells and may explain the immunosuppression caused by measles infection. We aim to investigate the mechanisms behind the effect of CD46 on immune cells. The outcomes of this study will define new paradigms in lymphocyte biology and determine how CD46 influences the immune response to infection.
Investigations Into The Architectural And Biophysical Features Of Optimal T Cell Receptor Design
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,877.00
Summary
Humans evolve slowly, pathogens and cancer evolve quickly. Unsurprisingly, our immune systems often lose this arms race and we irreversibly succumb to disease. Catastrophically, >26 million people are lost every year to the these causes. This project will use a new technology to rapidly advance the evolution of human immune receptors to construct a class of super-receptor. These super-receptors may prove decisive weapons in the fight against cancer and infectious disease.
Analysis Of T Cell Fate Regulation By Asymmetric Cell Division
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
The aim of this research is to study how white blood cell growth is regulated by signals of the immune system. Problems in this process can have drastic effects on the well being of an individual leading to deficiencies in controlling infection and development of diseases such as cancer. Once we understand how these signals regulate white blood cell growth, we can begin to develop therapies to provide protection against these diseases.
Investigating Polarity Proteins In Thymocytes- A Potential Role In Asymmetric Cell Division?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$69,684.00
Summary
To protect us against infection, surveying immune cells will launch an attack against foreign cells by using complex signalling process to communicate with each other. A novel method in which immune cells differentiate to defend the body against infection has been recently discovered this year and this project will involve dissecting how this occurs. It will involve using state-of-the-art laser-based technologies, combined with studying immune events in cells and intact organs.