An investigation into the role of DOCK8 in adaptive immunity

该项目的目的是了解一种名为DOCK8的新型蛋白质在感染免疫发展中的作用。对疫苗或感染的正常免疫反应取决于白细胞的形成和协调运动，但我们发现，当DOCK8缺乏时，这些过程被破坏。特别是，我们发现DOCK8对于被选择作为抗体反应的一部分的血细胞的存活是必需的。我们的研究旨在发现DOCK8如何对疫苗免疫反应产生如此特异性的影响，以及这些影响是否可以推广到其他过程。这项工作将有助于确定对疫苗和感染的反应背后的生物学过程。这对于控制人类疾病具有潜在的重要意义，并且DOCK8本身是在炎症或移植排斥期间抑制人类免疫反应的药物的潜在靶标。我们这个项目的成果将通过牛津大学、网站和其他媒体向公众传播。

The aim of this project is to understand the role of a novel protein called DOCK8 in the development of immunity to infections. The normal immune response to a vaccine or infection depends on the formation and co-ordinated movement of white blood cells, but we have found that these processes are disrupted when DOCK8 is deficient. In particular, we have found that DOCK8 is required for the survival of the while blood cells that are being selected as part of an antibody response. Our study aims to discover how DOCK8 has such a specific effect on the immune response to vaccines and if these effects may generalized to other processes. The work will help to identify the biological processes underlying the response to vaccines and infections. This is potentially important for the control of human disease, and DOCK8 itself is a potential target for drugs that could suppress the human immune response during inflammation or transplant rejection. Our results from this project will be communicated to the public through Oxford University, websites and other media.