"Exploring T Cell Activation and Differentiation by MS-based Proteomics"

Oreste Acuto, PhD
Professor and Senior Research Fellow
Sir William Dunn School of Pathology
University of Oxford

Recent progress in advanced quantitative mass spectrometry allows investigation of cellular proteomes at unprecedented levels of deepness and information abundance, comparable, if not superior to transcriptome analyses.
These advances permit now the use of limited amounts of biological material, not only to identify predictable missing links and unexpected connection in cellular pathways at the protein and metabolic levels, but also to appreciate changing patterns in cellular functions associated with cell differentiation at systems level.

During the last few years we have widely applied MS-based proteomics to T cell activation and differentiation, a biology and bio-medical research relevant system to understand complex processes set in motion by T cell antigen receptor (TCR) stimulation, in normal and pathological settings.

I will discuss recent data on the MS-based discovery and functional characterization of Themis, a novel protein implicated in thymus development of conventional T cells. Moreover, I will illustrate various approaches that have allowed reveal global changes protein phosphorylation and/or protein expression patterns upon TCR stimulation. Finally, I will report unpublished data on extensive cellular "methylome" studies in T differentiating cells.

Faculty host - Cheng Zhu, PhD