Harnessing Post-Transcriptional Gene Regulation in Lymphocyte Immune Responses: Implications for Cellular Immunotherapy

Lymphocytes respond to infection by rapidly increasing and decreasing the expression of many genes in a highly regulated manner. This regulation requires the integration of transcription, mRNA decay and translation. We are only just beginning to understand how these processes are integrated with each other. The host labs are studying how the multiprotein CCR4-NOT complex and its associated RNA binding proteins control gene expression. By combining structural and molecular biology approaches with cellular immunology and mouse models of immune responses we offer a broad training experience and the opportunity to discover fundamental mechanisms of gene regulation in the immune system. The discoveries have application in modifying the potency and durability of cellular immune therapies such as anti-tumour CART cell responses and the student will have an opportunity to apply fundamental knowledge to these applications.

References
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