Mark Davis is interested in how T and B lymphocytes recognize specific antigens.
T lymphocytes play a number of critical roles in the immune system.
Another is to understand the mechanics of early T cell activation, particularly with respect to how the various cell surface molecules redistribute themselves. A third goal is to investigate how T and B cell differentiation and selection are controlled and where critical decision points in this process lie. This suggests that the time a given TCR stays bound to a ligand is critical in determining whether it is optimally stimulating. Thus the binding characteristics of TCR ligands, particularly the dissociation rate, may be predictive of a wide range of T cell behavior. In these experiments, we have found that ICAM-1, MHC class II, and CD48 on the surface of a B cell mobilize to the interface with a T cell only if and when the T cell undergoes a sustained calcium flux.