Biology
Prof. Riitta Lahesmaa
Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku and �bo Akademi University, Finland
Regulation of the immune response is central for human health. T cells in particular orchestrate the adaptive arm of the immune system and are required for key immune functions. T helper (Th) cell subsets with distinct cytokine secretion profiles and function play a crucial role in host defense as well as in pathological disorders such as allergy and chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. To complement extensive knowledge on the mouse system we have focused on studies aiming at mechanistic understanding of human Th cell differentiation and immune mediated diseases providing a basis for translational research. We have identified new regulators of Th cell differentiation including factors involved in signaling, transcriptomics and epigenetics. Our recent findings will be summarized and discussed.
Selected publications
Ullah U, Andrabi SBA, Tripathi SK, Dirasantha O, Kanduri K, Rautio S, Gross CC, Lehtimäki S, Bala K, Tuomisto J, Bhatia U, Chakroborty D, Elo L, Lähdesmäki H, Wiendl H, Rasool O, Lahesmaa R. Transcriptional Repressor HIC1 Contributes to Suppressive Function of Human Induced Regulatory T Cells. Cell Rep. 2018, in press
Tripathi SK, Chen Z, Larjo A, Kanduri K, Nousiainen K, Äijo T, Ricaño-Ponce I, Hrdlickova B, Tuomela S, Laajala E, Salo V, Kumar V, Wijmenga C, Lähdesmäki H, Lahesmaa R. Genome-wide Analysis of STAT3-Mediated Transcription during Early Human Th17 Cell Differentiation. Cell Rep.;19:1888-1901, 2017.
Tuomela S, Rautio S, Ahlfors H, Öling V, Salo V, Ullah U, Chen Z, Hämälistö S, Tripathi SK, Äijö T, Rasool O, Soueidan H, Wessels L, Stockinger B, Lähdesmäki H, Lahesmaa R. Comparative analysis of human and mouse transcriptomes of Th17 cell priming. Oncotarget. 7:13416-28, 2016.
Kanduri K, Tripathi S, Larjo A, Mannerström H, Ullah U, Lund R, Hawkins RD, Ren B, Lähdesmäki H, Lahesmaa R. Identification of global regulators of T-helper cell lineage specification. Genome Med. 7:122, 2015.
Hawkins RD, Larjo A, Tripathi SK, Wagner U, Luu Y, Lönnberg T, Raghav SK, Lee LK, Lund R, Ren B, Lähdesmäki H, Lahesmaa R. Global Chromatin State Analysis Reveals Lineage-Specific Enhancers during the Initiation of Human T helper 1 and T helper 2 Cell Polarization. Immunity. 38: 1271-1284, 2013.
Tuomela S, Salo V, Tripathi SK, Chen Z, Laurila K, Gupta B, Äijö T, Oikari L, Stockinger B, Lähdesmäki H, Lahesmaa R. Identification of early gene expression changes during human Th17 cell differentiation. Blood. 119: e151-160, 2012.
Elo LL, Järvenpää, Tuomela S#, Raghav S#, Ahlfors H, Laurila K, Gupta B, Lund RJ, Tahvanainen J, Hawkins RD, Orešiic M, Lähdesmäki H, Rasool O, Rao KVS, Aittokallio T Lahesmaa R. Genome-wide profiling of interleukin-4 and STAT6 transcription factor regulation of human Th2 cell programming. Immunity. 32: 852-862, 2010.
