Prof Oreste Acuto

We are interested in understanding how T lymphocytes, central actors of adaptive immune responses, become activated when they encounter foreign substances. We wish to dissect the molecular mechanisms of the signals received by T lymphocytes that underlie this process. In particular, we study how these intracellular signals are generated, propagated, regulated and stored to promote cellular proliferation and differentiation.

To investigate the mechanism of T cell activation, we employ state-of-the-art quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics. We integrate this approach with in vitro and in vivo genetic manipulation, including siRNA and mutant mouse strains and pharmacological tools.

Research Details 

• Regulation of Lck-mediated basal and TCR-triggered signalling
• Architectural organisation and regulation of the TCR 'signalosome'
• A novel signalling pathway implicated in protein arginine methylation: role in T cell proliferation and differentiation