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

Air date: Wednesday, June 21, 2023, 4:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
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Description: 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 to https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/immunology-seminars
Author: Eric Huseby
Runtime: 1 hour, 15 minutes