This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Our laboratory carries out structural studies of molecules involved in our adaptive and innate immune systems. These molecules include antibodies, T cell receptors, major histocompatibility complex molecules, CD1 molecules and Toll-like receptors, as well as their cellular co-factors. We have an extensive program studying neutralizing antibodies against the HIV-1 virus and the influenza virus, and will be studying complexes of these antibodies with their viral antigens gp120 and gp41 (from HIV-1) and hemagglutinin and neuraminidase (from influenza). In addition, we are interested in the evolution of the immune system and are studying immune receptors from shark and lamprey in order to see how they compare to their mammalian counterparts. Many of the proteins we are studying are glycoproteins that tend to diffract weakly, so the use of synchrotron radiation is critical for their structure determinations. In addition to the immune-system related work, we are studying the enzymes GAR transformylase and AICAR transformylase, in complex with inhibitors, in a program of anti-cancer structure-based drug design and also human transthyretin in complex with anti-amyloidosis inhibitors.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 604 publications
