Mohamed Lamkanfi - SigNLRact

Onderstaande beschrijving is in het Engels:

Dit is een foto van Mo Lamkanfi.

Contact: Mohamed.Lamkanfi@VIB-UGent.be

Publications: publication list

SigNLRact - Signaling and activation pathways of the NOD-like receptors Ipaf, Nlrp1b and Nlrp12

Our long-term aim is to gain insight into the role of NOD-like receptors (NLRs) and inflammasomes in human disease. NLRs represent a family of intracellular receptors by which immune cells detect and mount immune responses against invading pathogens. Mutations in NLR genes are associated with auto-inflammatory and -immune disorders, including Crohn’s disease, arthritis, diabetes, period fever syndromes, asthma, atopic eczema, Blau syndrome and vitiligo.

A major challenge in NLR and inflammasome research is that the roles and signaling cascades of most NLRs are unclear. To increase our understanding of the role and signaling pathways of Ipaf, Nlrp1b and Nlrp12, we are (i) defining the subcellular localization and co-regulated genes of these NLRs in naive and activated immune cells; (ii) defining the composition of NLR protein complexes and validating these in immune cells from mutant mice; and (iii), mapping their activation mechanisms and pathophysiological roles in immune disorders.
Given the importance of NLRs in infection and autoimmunity, characterization of the activation and signaling pathways of Nlrp1b, Ipaf and Nlrp12 is likely to have far-reaching implications for our understanding of host defense and the immune response.