T lymphocytes dictate the nature of immunologic responses.
The specific immune response to antigen includes the activation of CD8 T cells which function as effector mechanisms that can be distinctly categorized as being protective or deleterious. We are investigating the mechanisms involved in determining which T cell subsets, protective or inhibitory, are activated in response to viral antigens or cancerous cells. We study the different pathways by which cytokines are activated, how production of these cytokines is regulated, and how these mechanisms operate during human disease. We are investigating the nature of immune responses to tumor-associated transplantation antigens on highly immunogenic cancers in mice, to determine the role of various CD8 T cell subsets in tumor progression or regression. We are also concentrating on defining the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines released upon stimulating with viral antigens on the activity of T inflammatory and cytotoxic cells.