Pathways Involved in Immune Regulation and B Cell Selection

我们的目标是了解人类免疫疾病的遗传学，并开发新的治疗策略，可以中断自身免疫的发展。为了了解免疫系统的异常调节如何导致自身免疫性疾病，我们正在研究参与“免疫记忆”的细胞，这是所有疫苗接种策略的基础，并导致对传染病的长期免疫力的发展。我们已经开发了跟踪细胞和表征免疫产生所涉及的事件的新方法，我们正在使用这些方法来研究对细胞内抗原的自身耐受性-例如参与自身免疫性疾病系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）的抗原。我们已经使用了一个模型来寻找对自身和外来抗原的免疫反应中的缺陷，并将基因与其生物学结果联系起来。我们已经确定了一种名为Roquin的蛋白质，作为类风湿性关节炎和SLE发展中的潜在重要蛋白质，我们现在正在研究可用作治疗的分子，以减少这两种衰弱疾病的自我导向免疫反应。

Our aim is to understand the genetics of immune disease in humans, and to develop new therapeutic strategies that can interrupt the development of autoimmunity. To understand how abnormal regulation of the immune system leads to autoimmune disease we are studying the cells involved in ‘immunological memory’ which is the basis for all vaccination strategies and leads to the development of long-term immunity to infectious disease. We have developed new methods of tracking cells and characterizing the events involved in generation of immunity and we are using these to study self tolerance to antigens inside cells – for example those involved in the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We have used a model to look for defects in the immune response to self and foreign antigens, and are linking genes with their biological outcomes. We have identified a protein called Roquin, as a potentially important protein in the development of rheumatoid arthritis and SLE and we are now working on molecules that could be used as a therapy to reduce the self-directed immune response in these two debilitating diseases.