CID Weekly Seminar TODAY 12pm

12:00 - 1:00pm, Seminar Room 1, Level 2, TRF Building

Role of CD53 in leukocyte trafficking

presented by Ms Louisa Yeung, Postgraduate Student, CID

Under an inflammatory setting, immune cells require the ability to migrate from the blood to sites of infection in order to mount an immune response. Aberrant leukocyte migration is a major contributor to the development of inflammatory and autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. Here, cellular infiltrates, result in a microenvironment rich in inflammatory cytokines.  Leukocyte recruitment requires the actions of adhesion molecules and their associated ligands. Tetraspanins are a superfamily of transmembrane proteins that promote the formation of association networks known as tetraspanin-enriched microdomains (TEMs), in which molecules such as leukocyte integrins form associations with a range of other proteins.  The leukocyte-expressed tetraspanin CD53 has recently been identified as a potential regulator of leukocyte recruitment. Though the mechanism by which CD53 accomplishes this remains unknown, unpublished data suggest that it may occur through the regulation of L-selectin expression. In the scope of inflammation and disease, L-selectin contributes to leukocyte tethering and rolling during the initial steps of recruitment, and is a fundamental molecule involved during lymphocyte homing. Thus, failure of adhesion molecule function and/or associated downstream signalling at this phase in the recruitment cascade may restrict the leukocyte recruitment response.

and

Regulatory T cell interactions with the vascular endothelium

presented by Prof Michael Hickey, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, CID

Michael Hickey is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, and head of the leukocyte trafficking group in the CID.  Regulatory T cell (Treg) trafficking to inflamed sites in the periphery is a critical element in the capacity of regulatory T cells to control inflammation. For Tregs to enter sites of inflammation from the circulation, they must undergo a sequence of interactions in the microvasculature of the target tissue. This presentation will describe research performed over the last few years using Treg reporter mice and intravital microscopy, examining the interactions between Tregs and the inflamed microvascular endothelium in the skin, in a model of T cell-dependent skin inflammation.

A light lunch is served prior to the seminar at 11:45am in the seminar room foyer, level 2, TRF Building.

Further information available from CID Weekly Seminar Series website [http://www.med.monash.edu.au/scs/medicine/cid/seminar-series.html]