Sarah Ross
Research Goals
- Understanding how oxygen levels control post-translational modification of proteins to regulate signalling networks and protein complexes.
- Determining how oxygen levels impact on many aspects of transcription and epigenetic control of gene expression in T cells.
- Establishing how oxygen levels configure the immune response and the role of prolonged hypoxia in contributing to dysfunctional fate decisions in T cells.
Research Summary
T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell, also called T cells) play a vital role in the adaptive immune responses that defend our bodies from invading pathogens and protect against the growth of cancer cells. The efficacy of T lymphocytes is determined by a combination of chemical cues and physical factors. T lymphocyte functions are guided by chemical signals like cytokines as well as factors including the nutrient levels of diseased tissues. Our aim is to determine how these factors impact on how well T lymphocytes can destroy diseased cells and clear infections. In particular, we are interested in understanding how low oxygen levels, or hypoxia, control the ability of T lymphocytes to perform their protective tasks.In order to investigate this, we perform biochemical analyses of T lymphocytes grown in the lab as primary cultures to characterise how low oxygen environments impact on cellular processes, such as signalling and gene expression, that control T lymphocyte function. The results from these culture systems can then be used to examine and understand specific changes that T lymphocytes undergo during an immune response within the body.
Identifying how oxygen levels control T lymphocytes will improve our understanding of immune responses, and the molecules and processes that can cause T lymphocytes to function incorrectly. By understanding healthy and diseased T lymphocytes, this research aims to identify therapeutic approaches to rejuvenate declined immune function associated with ageing, uncover new strategies to treat autoimmune disorders and cancers and improve the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies.
Find out more about our research.
Latest Publications
Signaling and Function of Interleukin-2 in T Lymphocytes. Annual review of immunology, 36, 1545-3278, 411-433, 2018 PMID: 29677473 |
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Interleukin-2 shapes the cytotoxic T cell proteome and immune environment-sensing programs. Science signaling, 11, 1937-9145, , 2018 PMID: 29666307 |
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Phosphoproteomic Analyses of Interleukin 2 Signaling Reveal Integrated JAK Kinase-Dependent and -Independent Networks in CD8(+) T Cells. Immunity, , 1097-4180, , 2016 PMID: 27566939 |