Imunologia Molecular

Interesse da Investigação

T lymphocytes play a crucial role in cellular immunity against pathogens, and are also implicated in tumor surveillance. We are interested in the processes of generation, activation and regulation of T lymphocytes. We are currently concentrating on γδ T cells, and their roles in the control of inflammation and tumor surveillance. Using state-of-the-art research tools (human and mouse genome databases, bioinformatics, cDNA microarrays, RNA interference), we envisage the identification of molecules involved in those processes and their integration in cellular mechanisms, to be translated into new treatments for cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Publicações

Gomes, A.Q, Correia, D.V. and Silva Santos, B. (2007). Non-classical Major Histocompatibility Complex proteins as determinants of tumour immunosurveillance. EMBO Reports. in press

Pennington, D.J., Silva Santos, B., Escorcio-Correia, M., Silberzahn, T. and Hayday, A.C. (2006). Early events in the thymus affect the balance of effector and regulatory T cells. Nature, 444, 7122 :1073-7

Graça, L., Silva Santos, B., Coutinho, A. (2006). The blind-spot of regulatory T cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 36, 4 :802-5

Silva Santos, B.*, Pennington, D.J.*, and Hayday, A.C.(* co-first authors) (2005). Lymphotoxin-mediated regulation of role of γδ cell differentiation by αβ T cell progenitors. Science. 307 :925-928

Silva Santos, B.*, Pennington, D.J.*, and Hayday, A.C. (* co-first authors) (2005). γδ T cell development – having the strength to get there. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 17, 2 :108-115. Review

Silva Santos, B.*, Pennington, D.J.*, Shires, J., Theodoridis, E., Pollit, C., Wise, E.L., Tigelaar, R.E., Owen, M.J. and Hayday, A.C. (* co-first authors) (2003). The inter-relatedness and interdependence of mouse T cell receptor γδ+ and αβ+ cells. Nature Immunology. 4, 10 :991-999.