Identifying new regulators of ILC2s and type-2 immune-mediated inflammation Dr Andrew McKenzie (MRC Lab Molecular Biology) presents his work on how the innate immune system and adaptive immune system protect the body from infection, but can also lead to inflammation and pathology. Hosted by Dr Jillian Barlow.

Seminar
This event has now finished.
  • Date and time: Friday 23 February 2024, 1pm to 2pm
  • Location: Dianna Bowles Lecture Theatre, B/K/018, Biology Building, Campus West, University of York (Map)
  • Audience: Open to alumni, staff, students (postgraduate researchers, taught postgraduates, undergraduates)
  • Admission: Free admission, booking not required

Event details

Abstract

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) help to orchestrate tissue homeostasis, allergic disorders and anti-helminth protective type-2 immunity through their production of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-13 and IL-5. To uncover previously unappreciated regulators of ILC2s and type-2 biology we used transcriptomic analysis and/or unbiased CRISPR-Cas9 screening approaches. We identified previously unappreciated roles for extracellular cytokines and intracellular transcription factors in the regulation of GATA3 and/or IL-13 expression, and in ILC2-regulatedimmune cell migration. To analyse these factors specifically in ILC2s we engineered a Boolean-ILC2-Cre mouse strain by integrating a synthetic gene circuit involving three orthogonal recombinases into endogenous gene loci to provide Boolean ‘AND’ and ‘AND NOT’ gates to precisely regulate in vivo ILC2-specificgene expression and cell function. I will present our recent results in the context of ILC2 mediated immune reactions in the lungs in response to viral or allergic challenge.

About the speaker

Professor Andrew McKenzie

Andrew is a Programme Leader and Head of the Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry (PNAC) Division in the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB). 

He has contributed to understanding how type-2 cytokine networks orchestrate cellular responses to pathogens and how their dysregulation can lead to diseases such as asthma and allergy. He discovered the cytokine interleukin-13 and subsequently unearthed type-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) defining their development and functions.

He was a postdoctoral fellow at the MRC NIMR (UK) and at DNAX Research Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology (USA).  He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2017, and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2011.

Partners

Centre for Blood Research