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Project

Identification of new immunomodulating targets and agents for B lymphocytes

Immunosuppressive drugs are used for both solid organ transplantation and the treatment of immune disorders such as autoimmune diseases (arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis) or allergies. The majority of the marketed immunosuppressive drugs control the activity of the T cells but more and more pieces of evidence describe the B cells as another key-player in the pathogenesis of various immune disorders. Therefore B cells are interesting targets to develop new drugs. Identification of new crucial molecules in the B cell activation cascades will be performed in vitro by genetic knock-out assays with phenotypic read-out. This broad approach strategy avoids the biases induced by a focus on specific pathways and can highlight the central role of proteins not yet described to be involved in these processes. Deep investigations in the biological functions of these proteins will clarify their role in the activation of immune cells. Once a protein is validated as an interesting target for new B cell-specific immunosuppressive therapeutics, a target based assay will be developed to screen broad chemical libraries in order to identify new chemical entities as potential candidates for new immunosuppressive drugs.

Date:1 Oct 2011 →  7 Jun 2017
Keywords:Immunology, B cells
Disciplines:Immunology
Project type:PhD project