Immunopeptidomics: A Personalized Medicine Approach to Antigen Discovery, Characterization, and Treatment of Autoimmune Inflammatory Disease
Speaker: Rebecca Powell Doherty, University of Oxford
Abstract: Peptide antigens bound to HLA molecules and presented to T-lymphocytes are a critical initial step to facilitate the response of the adaptive immune system in the eradication of pathogen-infected or cancerous cells, and the production of antibodies. However, in the context of immune-mediated disease, antigens may be inappropriately presented, initiating an aberrant immune response that contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases. Immunopeptidomics is an emerging field of proteomics that utilizes mass spectrometry to identify such antigens. Here we present a robust methodology for the identification of HLA-bound peptides, particularly in those individuals with very strong, but thus far unexplained HLA-specific genetic predisposition to mucosal inflammatory disorders, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. We further demonstrate the use of prediction algorithms and the potential of mucosal modeling to identify antigen candidates most likely to induce essential T-cell activity informing downstream pathogenesis of disease.
Bio: Dr. Rebecca Powell Doherty is a senior research fellow in the Antigen Discovery Group at the University of Oxford. She completed her Ph.D. in interdisciplinary biology and immunology in 2010 from UNC Charlotte and graduated with an M.P.H. from Virginia Tech in 2017. Her research focuses on the link between specific HLA/MHC molecular polymorphisms and the progression of autoimmune diseases, including Type I diabetes, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.