No cell is an island: quorum-regulation of T cell behaviour by nested antagonistic feedback circuits
T cell responses upon infection display a remarkably reproducible pattern of expansion, contraction and memory formation. It is unclear, whether the robustness of this pattern builds entirely on signals derived from other cell types, or whether activated T cells themselves contribute to the orchestration of these population dynamics – akin to bacterial quorum-regulation. We examined this question and found that cell clustering enabled CD8+ T cells to collectively regulate the balance between proliferation and apoptosis. Mechanistically, this was mediated by two nested antagonistic feedback circuits, whose competition was modulated by T cell density. Such population-intrinsic regulation of cellular behavior promotes robustness of population dynamics.
Date: 24 February 2020, 12:00 (Monday, 6th week, Hilary 2020)
Venue: Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Headington OX3 7FY
Venue Details: Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre
Speaker: Dr Jan Rohr (University of Freiburg, Germany)
Organising department: Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS)
Organisers: Jennifer Pope (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology), Professor Irina Udalova (Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology)
Organiser contact email address: jennifer.pope@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
Host: Dr Audrey Gerard (The Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology)
Part of: Kennedy Institute Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Jennifer Pope