The study of recycling endosomes in innate immune cells

我的研究项目主要集中在先天免疫细胞中细胞因子运输的机制。细胞因子向细胞表面的运输涉及再循环内体（RE），这是用于将蛋白质货物分选和运输到质膜和从质膜分选和运输的必要隔室。最近，已经发现RE组成性地将细胞因子、肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF）从高尔基体运输到巨噬细胞中的细胞膜。然而，RE在粒细胞中细胞因子的运输和释放中的存在和功能知之甚少。粒细胞是体内最丰富的循环先天免疫细胞，并具有从血液中迁移到组织中的能力。在组织浸润时，粒细胞释放大量的细胞因子，其具有强效的促炎作用。因此，粒细胞是强大的分泌细胞，在免疫中起着双刃剑的作用。此外，粒细胞具有强大的蛋白质运输系统，可作为研究细胞因子分泌的完美模型。

My research program is focused on the mechanisms of cytokine trafficking in innate immune cells. Trafficking of cytokines to the cell surface involves recycling endosomes (REs), an essential compartment for sorting and transportation of protein cargo to and from the plasma membrane. Recently, REs have been discovered to constitutively traffic the cytokine, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), from the Golgi to the cell membrane in macrophages. However, the presence and function of REs in trafficking and release of cytokines in granulocytes is poorly understood. Granulocytes are the most abundant circulating innate immune cells in the body, and have the ability to transmigrate into tissues from the blood. Upon tissue infiltration, granulocytes release copious quantities of cytokines, which have potent proinflammatory effects. Thus, granulocytes are powerful secretory cells that function as a double-edged sword in immunity. In addition, granulocytes have robust protein trafficking systems that serve as perfect models for studying the secretion of cytokines.