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SUMMARY:Not quite Houdini: Poxviruses and T cell priming in the face of im
 mune evasion genes - Dr David Tscharke\, The Australian National Universit
 y
DTSTART:20120705T130000Z
DTEND:20120705T143000Z
UID:TALK38912@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Phil Brereton
DESCRIPTION:In the last decade a wealth of information has become availabl
 e enabling the study of CD8+ T cell\nresponses to many native epitopes of 
 poxviruses. Our laboratory has been using this information to\nunderstand 
 several aspects of CD8+ T cell responses to poxviruses and vaccinia virus 
 (VACV)\nvaccines. First\, we are interested in understanding the hierarchy
  of responses\, or why some epitopes\nelicit stronger responses than other
 s (often called immunodominance) and why this can change with\ndiffering i
 nfection conditions. Second\, we are studying how these epitopes are prese
 nted to CD8+ T\ncells when responses are initiated (or primed) and the ext
 ent to which this varies by VACV strain.\nThird\, we are seeking a quantit
 ative understanding of how the amount of each epitope displayed on\nan inf
 ected cell relates to the abundance of its parent protein and its position
  in the\nimmunodominance hierarchy. Finally\, and most related to the titl
 e\, we have explored the extent to\nwhich two recently described inhibitor
 s of CD8+ T cell epitope presentation from cowpox virus\nsuppress the prim
 ing of immune responses. The major finding of this last study is that the 
 overall\neffect of these ‘immune evasion’ genes is surprisingly limite
 d. This talk will present data from\nacross these areas of research with a
  particular focus on the inability of poxviruses to escape the\nvigilance 
 of the immune system\, even when armed with apparently effective tools of 
 evasion.
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre\, Department of Pathology\, Tennis Court Road
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