BBSRC Portfolio Analyser
Award details
The role of P110d in immunological memory
Reference
BBS/E/B/0000M725
Principal Investigator / Supervisor
Dr Martin Turner
Co-Investigators /
Co-Supervisors
Institution
Babraham Institute
Department
Babraham Institute Department
Funding type
Research
Value (£)
33,252
Status
Completed
Type
Institute Project
Start date
01/10/2007
End date
30/07/2008
Duration
10 months
Abstract
PI3K are a family of enzymes that phosphorylate membrane bound phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) to generate PIP3. PIP3 is a second messenger that regulates the location and activity of a variety of effector proteins including kinases (such as PKB) and GEFs (e.g. Vav, PREx1). PI3K are activated by diverse stimuli and function by integrating these stimuli into changes in metabolism, apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation and more. Lymphocytes express multiple PI3K, however we have demonstrated a non-redundant role for p110d in the development of B lymphocytes. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the essential role for this PI3K in the humoral response to thymus-dependent and independent antigens. As there is clear evidence that P110d also plays an essential role in T cell activation this raised the question of whether the defect was intrinsic to B cells, T cells or both types of lymphocyte. To address this issue we generated a floxed allele of P110d (unpublished data). This mouse model will, for the first time, allow tissue specific and temporal control of P110d function.Key questions that remain to be answered include: What is the relative contribution of P110d activity in T cells versus B cells to the defects in humoral immunity? Is P110d required for the maintenance of established populations of antigen-specific memory and/or plasma cells? This is an important issue as nothing is known about this problem in terms of molecular signalling. Moreover, identifying the mechanisms that drive B cell differentiation into memory or plasma cells is important as it has implications for the design of vaccines and the problems of autoimmunity and cancers.
Summary
unavailable
Committee
Closed Committee - Animal Sciences (AS)
Research Topics
Immunology
Research Priority
X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative
X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme
X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme
I accept the
terms and conditions of use
(opens in new window)
export PDF file
back to list
new search