Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2007
Mentor: Christoph Wuelfing
Department: Center for Immunology
Room number: NA7.500
Mail Code: 9093
Phone number: 214 648-7320
E-mail: Christoph.Wuelfing@UTSouthwestern.edu
Project title: Promoting NK cell killing of tumor target cells by enhancing
NK cell polarization
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):
Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 0880-06-05-1
Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)
basic research
Brief Description of Project:
Brief Description of Project:Natural killer (NK) cells are named for their intrinsic
ability to kill tumor cells. However, against a lot of tumors NK cells only
kill suboptimally. The principal killing mechanism of NK cells is the release
of the contents of cytotoxic granules towards the tumor target cell. This requires
that the NK cells effectively polarize their secretory machinery. In previous
work we have shown that this polarization is often inefficient in the interaction
of NK cells with tumor target cells. Drawing on our investigation of the regulation
of cellular polarization of a second lymphocyte, the T cell, we have developed
a strategy to enhance NK cell polarization as a means to improve tumor target
cell lysis. Preliminary data support the validity of the approach. A project
each will be available in the implementation of the strategy and in the further
investigation of T cell polarization. Projects include video fluorescence microscopy
to visualize polarization, molecular biology to generate reagents to enhance
it, and functional assays for target cell lysis.
Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:
5 Medical student, the last two were Thanh Tran and Shining Sun (for the second
time) in 2006.
Tskvitaria-Fuller, I., Mistry, N., Sun, S., and Wülfing, C. (2006). Protein transduction as a means of effective manipulation of Cdc42 activity in primary T cells. J. immunol. Meth., in press, doi:10.1016/j.jim.2006.10.017
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