Biochemistry Alumni Lecture 2015: MAIT cells: Friend or Foe in recognising microbial vitamin metabolites presented by the MHC-I-related molecule MR1
Event Details
- Date:
- Friday, 28 August 2015 - Friday, 28 August 2015
- Time:
- 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
- Room:
- Room 358, Physiology Building (#63), UQ St Lucia (Networking session and afternoon tea in the foyer outside Room 358)
- UQ Location:
- Physiology Lecture Theatres (St Lucia)
- URL:
- http://tinyurl.com/2015-biochem-alumni-lecture
- Event category(s):
Event Contact
- Name:
- Ms Aarti Kapoor
- Phone:
- 60808
- Email:
- a.kapoor@uq.edu.au
- Org. Unit:
- Science
Event Description
- Full Description:
- This year, our speaker is Prof James McCluskey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), The University of Melbourne. Prof McCluskey is also Group Leader, McCluskey Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Melbourne.
3.00pm to 4.00pm - Networking session and afternoon tea
4.00pm to 5.00pm - Lecture by Professor James McCluskey
To attend, please register online at http://tinyurl.com/2015-biochem-alumni-lecture by noon on Thursday 27 August 2015.
About the talk:
T cells respond to a huge variety of microbial molecules, predominantly peptides and lipids, via highly variable T cell receptors (TCR). Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an abundant population of innate-like T cells, that exhibit much less variability in the TCR. Prof McCluskey’s group performed seminal work to show that MAIT cell TCRs recognise riboflavin precursors found in many bacteria and yeast. Crystal structures of MAIT TCR complexes with the antigen-presenting molecule MR1 show that the MAIT cell TCR recognises some unstable intermediates in riboflavin synthesis, that are trapped by MR1 as covalent Schiff base complexes. Thus, MR1 is able to capture, stabilize and present chemically unstable pyrimidine intermediates, as potent antigens to MAIT cells. These pyrimidine adducts are created by microbes such as bacteria and yeast but not by humans or other mammals who obtain vitamin B from the diet rather than endogenous synthesis.
Prof McCluskey will discuss recent work on MAIT cell dynamics in Salmonella infection as well as the potential for MAIT cell mediated pathology, such as in chronic gastric infection with Helicobacter.
Directions to UQ
- Google Map:
-
- Directions:
- St Lucia Campus | Gatton campus.
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