Regulation and thresholds in adaptive cellular immunity

Against this background, our research group focuses on adhesion receptors on the surface of leukocytes. We are investigating how the activation and functional states of T lymphocytes are regulated and how these crucial protagonists of cellular adaptive immunity in the body reach the sites of their function. Surface receptors are important for both aspects.

Currently, we are working in particular on mechanisms of how different receptors interact on T cells and how these interactions affect regulatory or cytotoxic functions.

One example of such receptors is integrin a_E(CD103)b₇ (hereafter referred to as CD103 for short). This dimeric receptor is expressed by some T lymphocytes and appears to be relevant to their regulatory properties. In transcriptome analyses and subsequent confirmations at the protein level, we have now found that the expression of CD103 on CD8-expressing T lymphocytes under cytokine stimulation is closely associated with the expression of certain immunoglobulin-like adhesion receptors. Almost nothing is known about the function of the latter in immunoregulatory processes. We hypothesize that the population of lymphocytes expressing both receptors has special regulatory or cytotoxic properties, which we are investigating in our research project.

We are working mainly with cell lines and with cells derived from human blood. Numerous molecular and immunological methods are applied. If necessary, preclinical in vivo models are also used to investigate complex immunological relationships, for example in the pathogenesis of allergies or chronic inflammatory diseases.