T cells are one of the important types of white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell surface.
In molecular biology, CD4 is a glycoprotein that serves as a co-receptor for the T-cell receptor (TCR). CD4 is found on the surface of immune cells such as T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. It was discovered in the late 1970s and was originally known as leu-3 and T4 before being named CD4 in 1984. In humans, the CD4 protein is encoded by the CD4 gene.
Lck is a 56 kDa protein that is found inside specialized cells of the immune system called lymphocytes. The Lck is a member of Src kinase family (SFK), it is important for the activation of the T-cell receptor signaling in both naive T cells and effector T cells. The role of the Lck is less prominent in the activation or in the maintenance of memory CD8 T cells in comparison to CD4 T cells. In addition, the role of the lck varies among the memory T cells subsets. It seems that in mice, in the effector memory T cells (TEM) population, more than 50% of lck is present in a constitutively active conformation, whereas, only less than 20% of lck is present as active form of lck. These differences are due to differential regulation by SH2 domain–containing phosphatase-1 (Shp-1) and C-terminal Src kinase.
Cluster of Differentiation 86 is a protein constitutively expressed on dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, macrophages, B-cells, and on other antigen-presenting cells. Along with CD80, CD86 provides costimulatory signals necessary for T cell activation and survival. Depending on the ligand bound, CD86 can signal for self-regulation and cell-cell association, or for attenuation of regulation and cell-cell disassociation.
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CXC-R5) also known as CD185 or Burkitt lymphoma receptor 1 (BLR1) is a G protein-coupled seven transmembrane receptor for chemokine CXCL13 and belongs to the CXC chemokine receptor family. It enables T cells to migrate to lymph node and the B cell zones. In humans, the CXC-R5 protein is encoded by the CXCR5 gene.
Tumor necrosis factor ligand superfamily member 9 also known as 4-1BB ligand or 4-1BBL or CD137L is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TNFSF9 gene.
CD137, a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor family, is a type 1 transmembrane protein, expressed on surfaces of leukocytes and non-immune cells. Its alternative names are tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 9 (TNFRSF9), 4-1BB, and induced by lymphocyte activation (ILA). It is of interest to immunologists as a co-stimulatory immune checkpoint molecule, and as a potential target in cancer immunotherapy.
LIGHT, also known as tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 14 (TNFSF14), is a secreted protein of the TNF superfamily. It is recognized by herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM), as well as decoy receptor 3.
Lymphocyte-activation gene 3, also known as LAG-3, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the LAG3 gene. LAG3, which was discovered in 1990 and was designated CD223 after the Seventh Human Leucocyte Differentiation Antigen Workshop in 2000, is a cell surface molecule with diverse biologic effects on T cell function. It is an immune checkpoint receptor and as such is the target of various drug development programs by pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop new treatments for cancer and autoimmune disorders. In soluble form it is also being developed as a cancer drug in its own right.
B- and T-lymphocyte attenuator or BTLA is a protein that belongs to the CD28 immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) which is encoded by the BTLA gene located on the 3rd human chromosome. BTLA was first discovered in 2003 as an inhibitor of Th1 expansion and it became the 3rd member of the CD28 IgSF. However, its discovered ligand herpes virus entry mediator or HVEM belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF). This finding was surprising because until the discovery of HVEM it was believed that receptors and ligands always belong to the same family.
Hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 2 (HAVCR2), also known as T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HAVCR2 (TIM-3)gene. HAVCR2 was first described in 2002 as a cell surface molecule expressed on IFNγ producing CD4+ Th1 and CD8+ Tc1 cells. Later, the expression was detected in Th17 cells, regulatory T-cells, and innate immune cells. HAVCR2 receptor is a regulator of the immune response.
Lloyd Mayer was an American gastroenterologist and immunologist. He was Professor and Co-Director of the Immunology institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, now known as the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute.
Eomesodermin also known as T-box brain protein 2 (Tbr2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EOMES gene.
Harvey Cantor is an American immunologist known for his studies of the development and immunological function of T lymphocytes. Cantor is currently the Baruj Benacerraf Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at the Harvard Medical School.
The Icahn Genomics Institute is a biomedical and genomics research institute within the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Its aim is to establish a new generation of medicines that can better treat diseases afflicting the world, including cancer, heart disease and infectious pathogens. To do this, the institute’s doctors and scientists are developing and employing new types of treatments that utilize DNA and RNA based therapies, such as CRISPR, siRNA, RNA vaccines, and CAR T cells, and searching for novel drug targets through the use of functional genomics and data science. The institute is led by Brian Brown, a leading expert in gene therapy, genetic engineering, and molecular immunology.
Alfred Singer is an American immunologist who works at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he is the Chief of the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research. He is best known for his work regarding lymphocyte development, particularly the differentiation of immature CD4+8+ thymocytes into mature T cells. Singer's work is foundational in the understanding of T cells and MHC-restricted antigen recognition.
Miram Merad is a French-Algerian professor in Cancer immunology and the Director of the Marc and Jennifer Lipschultz Precision Immunology Institute (PrIISM) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) in New York, NY. She is the corecipient of the 2018 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic Immunology and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
Gail A. Bishop is an American professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Iowa and director of the Center for Immunology & Immune-Based Diseases at the Carver College of Medicine.
Carol Shoshkes Reiss, an American viral immunologist, has been professor in New York University's department of biology since 1991. Her research focused on the dynamic contest between the mouse immune system and virus replication during infection of the central nervous system. Reiss was editor-in-chief of the journal Viral Immunology (2000–2006) and is currently editor-in-chief of the journal DNA and Cell Biology (2012–present).
Eui-Cheol Shin is a Korean medical immunologist, academic, and author. He is a professor at the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and director of The Center for Viral Immunology at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), a Korean government-funded research institute.
