This presentation is hosted by the Microbiology and Immunology Department.

Target Audience

Des Moines University faculty, staff, and students.

Purpose

Cells in the immune system are tuned exquisitely to avoid the extremes of immunodeficiency and autoimmunity. We apply the tools of biochemistry and immunology to understand macrophage and lymphocyte signaling with the goal of understanding how inflammation and dysregulation can affect cell sensitivity and exacerbate disease, how protein-protein interactions at the plasma membrane regulate signaling, and how receptor clustering enables signaling.

Speaker

Tanya Freedman, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota

Research Summary/Interests

Immune cells are tuned exquisitely to identify pathogens and avoid hypersensitivity. In macrophages the Src-family tyrosine kinases (LynA, LynB, Hck, and Fgr) regulate a size sensing mechanism based on their ability to nucleate ITAM receptor clusters. Bacteria and yeast cells are a few microns in diameter, and resulting micron-sized ITAM clusters trigger strong antimicrobial signaling. We are studying how regulation of the Src-family kinases, especially LynA, regulate the receptor-ligand size threshold that sometimes results in macrophage hypersensitivity to smaller stimuli. We are also interested in how LynA and other signaling proteins contribute to macrophage roles in autoinflammation, tumor growth, and antimicrobial responses. Full biography.