IIG Seminar - MHC-II heterozygosity limits T1D susceptibility through non-cognate negative selection.

The ability of T cells to distinguish highly similar peptide ligands bound to a specific class of MHC proteins is the underlying basis for a functioning adaptive immune system. Why TCRs - which are structurally very similar to antibodies - only bind MHC proteins is poorly understood. The Huseby lab is focused on the molecular and cellular pathways that govern the generation, maintenance and function of a self-tolerant T cell repertoire and the autoimmune consequences of self-tolerance failure. To understand how T cell repertoires develop and how defects in the process lead to autoimmune disease, Dr. Huseby ’ s group has created analytic probes to identify the strength and specificity of TCR-peptide-MHC binding. These novel display libraries are being used to decipher how positive and negative selection shape the T cell repertoire and to evaluate how TCR cross-reactivity for peptide-MHC ligands influences which T cells enter an immune response. To study how mature T cells discriminate between different affinity ligands, Dr. Huseby ’ s group has created a series of viruses that express biophysically defined T cell ligands for CD4 T cells. Using these recombinant viruses and corresponding CD4 T cells, they are determining when, where and how T cells determine to enter into the immune response. These experiments will begin to solve the biophysical basis of TCR-peptide-MHC binding and MHC class specificity.For more information go tohttps://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/immunology...
Source: Videocast - All Events - Category: General Medicine Tags: Upcoming Events Source Type: video