Boosting the Immune System

Research by MSI PI Christina Camell, (assistant professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) studies how and why infections can be more lethal in older adults than younger ones. They have discovered that the amount of a protein found on T cells, PD1, increases over time. This protein reduces the effect of CD8+ T cells, which are a primary infection fighter. The researchers have found a way to block the effect of PD1, allowing the T cells to re-activate. A feature story about Professor Camell and her research can be found on the CBS website: Boosting immune function for older adults.  The research was published in the journal Nature Aging.

Professor Camell and her group work with the MSI Bioinformatics staff, who perform cell type deconvolution on bulk RNA-seq data to differentiate non-immune and immune cells. Dr. Juan Abrahante Lloréns, NGS Genomics Analyst and Consultant and a manager in the Bioinformatics group, worked with the Camell group on the research in this paper.