Topic: C-type lectins in immunity

Speaker: Dr. Gordon Douglas Brown

                6^th Century Chair in Immunology,

                Institute of Medical Sciences

                University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.

Time: 14:00-15:30, April 10th (Mon.), 2017

Location: D326, Medical Science Building

Host: Dr. Xin Lin

Abstract:

Gordon Brown completed a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was a Wellcome Trust traveling postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, UK, then a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellow at University of Cape Town, South Africa, and is now a Professor of immunology, Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator and Director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Aberdeen. His primary research interests are C-type lectin receptors and their role in homeostasis and immunity, with a particular focus on antifungal immunity.

The last few decades has seen a tremendous increase in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of protective anit-microbal immunity. Key among these discoveries is the identification of pattern recognition receptors (or PRRs) expressed by immune cells which recognize conserved microbial components, such as beta-glucans. Recognition of these structures by PRRs, particularly by members of the C-type lectin receptor (CLR) family, triggers intracellular signaling cascades that initiate a variety of cellular and inflammatory responses, and induce the development of pathogen specific adaptive immunity. We now understand that innate recognition by CLRs is essential for the development of protective antimicrobial immunity but there is also emerging evidence that the functions of these receptors play a role in homeostasis and autoimmunity. In this presentation, I will cover the recent developments in our understanding of the function and roles of these receptors.