BME/ChBE Seminar - Dr. Jun Huang, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University

Dr. Jun Huang will present "A Single Peptide-MHC Triggers Digital Cytokine Secretion in CD4 T Cells"

All dates for this event occur in the past.

E100 Scott Laboratory
201 W. 19th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

Jun Huang
Postdoctoral Research Associate Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Stanford University

Cordially invites you to attend a seminar on
A Single Peptide-MHC Triggers Digital Cytokine Secretion in CD4 T Cells
 

Abstract:
We have developed a single-molecule imaging technique that uses quantum-dot-labeled peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) ligands to study CD4 T cell functional sensitivity. We found that naive T cells, T cell blasts, and memory T cells could all be triggered by a single pMHC to secrete tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) cytokines with a rate of ∼1,000, ∼10,000, and ∼10,000 molecules/min, respectively, and that additional pMHCs did not augment secretion, indicating a digital response pattern. We also found that a single pMHC localized to the immunological synapse induced the slow formation of a long-lasting T cell receptor (TCR) cluster, consistent with a serial engagement mechanism. These data show that scaling up CD4 T cell cytokine responses involves increasingly efficient T cell recruitment rather than greater cytokine production per cell.

Bio
Jun Huang is a bioengineer fascinated by immunology. Huang earned his Ph.D. at Georgia Tech under the supervision of Professor Cheng Zhu. His training was in molecular and cellular engineering, and he focused his studies on T cell antigen recognition. Using single-molecule mechanical assays, he measured the fast binding kinetics of the T cell receptor and quantified the role of the CD8 co-receptor. These studies resulted in two first-author papers published in Nature and Immunity. Huang then continued with postdoctoral training under the guidance of Professor Mark M. Davis at Stanford University. He developed a single-molecule imaging technique using quantum dot (QD) nanotechnology to track single peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules. He found that a single pMHC triggers digital cytokine secretion in CD4 T cells. This work has been published in Immunity. Furthermore, Huang has made compact, stable and monovalent QDs in collaboration with Professor Moungi Bawendi at MIT. Huang also contributed to work on a photocrosslinkable pMHC and antigen recognition by Nature Immunology and Immunity, respectively. Huang's interests unite immunology, systems biology, biophysics, and biotechnology.
 

Tuesday, March 25, 2014
11:30 AM
E100 Scott Laboratory, 201 W. 19th Ave
Reception at 11:00 AM in E100 Scott Laboratory