Ep. 41: “Autoimmunity and Cancer Immunotherapy” Featuring Dr. Vijay Kuchroo

Guest:

Dr. Vijay Kuchroo is the Samuel L. Wasserstrom Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. His major research interests include the role of co-stimulation in autoimmune diseases, as well as cell surface molecules and regulatory factors that regulate the induction of T cell tolerance and dysfunction. He talks about the conditions necessary to differentiate Th17 cells and their role in autoimmunity. He also discusses his group’s discovery of Tim-3, an inhibitor receptor on T cells which is now being exploited for cancer immunotherapy.

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The Immunology Science Round Up

Disrupting Calcium Homeostasis – Researchers showed that inherited variants in ITPR3 alter physiologically relevant Ca2+ signaling responses, driving defects in immune responses.

Light Chain Coherence in Antibodies – Among naturally occurring antibodies that have adapted to particular antigens, those with similar heavy chains usually have similar light chains.

Anti-CTLA-4 Antibodies Reprogram the Tumor Microenvironment – Scientists used single-cell RNA sequencing to dissect the immune response to anti-CTLA-4 blockade.

An Intranasal Booster for Sarbecoviruses – Researchers used a SARS-CoV-2 intranasal spike booster to elicit mucosal immune memory within the respiratory tract.

Image courtesy of Dr. Vijay Kuchroo