Integrins are a widely expressed family of cell adhesion receptors that participate in cellular interactions in many tissues. Their role in immune cells is critical for leukocyte trafficking, activation and function to shape successful immunity. Therefore, integrins are attractive targets for recalibrating immune responses in local microenvironments. Our group intends to target intracellular signaling events that orchestrate integrin activities in immune cells. In this regard, we investigate the diversity and specificity of these signaling pathways in various cellular contexts and investigate their potential to selectively manipulate specific subsets of immune cells for therapeutic purposes. We primarily focus on integrin-dependent infiltration and function of immune cells in several pathological settings, including cancer and inflammatory diseases. We develop genetically modified mouse models carrying knock-out or knock-in mutations of key regulators of integrin signaling and pursue an interdisciplinary strategy, combining immune cell biology, molecular biology, proteomics, advanced microscopy techniques as well as complementary ex vivo and in vivo approaches.
Team Members
