Dissecting the impact of L-selectin proteolysis on T lymphocyte dependent virus immunity

Killer T cells enter infected tissues to kill virus. T cell entry into infected tissues requires the homing molecule L-selectin. When killer T cells see virus they digest L-selectin and release fragments into the cell.

This project will determine how fragments of digested L-selectin control the ability of killer T cells to detect and kill virus.

Viral infection represents a severe economic burden. The ability to combat viral infections depends on a subset of white blood cells called T cells. During infection, virus-specific T cells are activated to “killer” status to clear virus. How killer T cells find infected tissues, such as influenza-infected lungs, is not known. We showed that a homing molecule called L-selectin, thought to be lost during T cell activation, is key to this process. When a T cell detects virus, L-selectin is digested from the cell surface and lost; but quickly replaced.

For further details of this project, please see our website: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/project/dissecting-the-impact-of-l-selectin-proteolysis-on-t-lymphocyte-dependent-virus-immunity