Conveners
Parallel Session 12: Structural Biology
- Mark John Hackett (Curtin Univeristy)
Our immune system comprises an army of diverse cell types designed to defend our body against infections. These immune cells specifically recognise invaders (pathogens) and, once activated, elicit a targeted attack to eliminate the infection. Within the army of immune cells are cytotoxic T cells equipped with receptors (TCRs). TCRs recognise a fragment of a pathogen (i.e., bits of peptides,...
Newly-emerged and vaccine-mismatched influenza A viruses (IAVs) result in a rapid global spread of the virus due to minimal antibody-mediated immunity. In that case, established CD8+ T-cells can reduce disease severity. However, as mutations occur sporadically within immunogenic IAV-derived T-cell peptides, understanding of T-cell receptor (TCRab) cross-reactivity towards IAV variants is...
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a major health issue. With 2 million people newly infected per year, there is an urgent need to develop an HIV cure. Without treatment, HIV infection leads to the progressive disruption of the immune system leading to AIDS, and the occurrence of multiple opportunistic infections.
Surprisingly, a small fraction of HIV-infected individuals (< 0.5%) can...
Cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) are a family of pore-forming toxins that punch holes in the outer membrane of eukaryotic cells. The CDCs exhibit a number of unique features amongst pore-forming toxins including an absolute dependence on the presence of cholesterol-rich membranes for their activity and the formation of oligomeric transmembrane pores greater than 150 Å in diameter. The...
