Regulation of T cell fate diversity
Abstract:
Robust and heterogeneous antigen-specific CD8 T cell responses are essential for effective host defense against infection. Upon an acute viral infection, a single activated naïve CD8 T cell can give rise to progeny comprising both early precursors of effector and memory cells. How such heterogeneity is generated on a mechanistic level is still not well resolved. Different models propose various factors or mechanisms that contribute to the establishment of cellular heterogeneity, including the strength of initial T cell receptor (TCR) signaling and asymmetric cell division (ACD). In both models, the immunological synapse (IS), formed between the antigen-presenting cell (APC) and the engaged T cell, orchestrates TCR activation and establishes a polarization axis serving as a prerequisite for ACD. ACD is characterized by a polarized distribution of specific fate-determining transcription factors, cell organelles and surface receptors. However, a direct link of ACD to subsequent asymmetric fate on a single cell level is missing. We established experimental systems allowing to follow the fate of single daughter cell progenies induced by weak or strong TCR stimulation using live imaging. Our results indicate a role for ACD in fate determination, specifically after strong TCR stimulation.
Biography:
Prof. Annette Oxenius, PhD, received her university degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Zurich in 1993 and in 1997 she completed her PhD in immunology at the Institute of Experimental Immunology at ETH Zurich. After a postdoc at the University of Oxford, UK, she was elected assistant professor for immunology at the Institute of Microbiology of the ETH in 2002, was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and to full professor in 2012. Her research focuses on the regulation of immune responses in the context of acute and persistent viral infections in experimental mouse models.
Biography:
Prof. Annette Oxenius, PhD, received her university degree in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Zurich in 1993 and in 1997 she completed her PhD in immunology at the Institute of Experimental Immunology at ETH Zurich. After a postdoc at the University of Oxford, UK, she was elected assistant professor for immunology at the Institute of Microbiology of the ETH in 2002, was promoted to associate professor in 2007 and to full professor in 2012. Her research focuses on the regulation of immune responses in the context of acute and persistent viral infections in experimental mouse models.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal