Jonsson Lab
Principal Investigator: Anna Helena Jonsson
Institution: University of Colorado Anschutz (Aurora, CO)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: ✅ Hiring Postdocs
Research Focus
Project Summary/Abstract This proposal is a five-year research plan with an overarching goal of determining the dominant effector functions of granzyme K-expressing CD8 T cells in synovial tissue in rheumatoid arthritis. Inflamed synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis contains a large number of CD8 T cells, in some cases representing up to 30% of live cells. We have found that these cells do not express high levels of genes and proteins typically expressed by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, such as GZMB (granzyme B), PRF1 (perforin), and GNLY (granulysin). Instead, these CD8 cells express large amounts of granzyme K, a protease with a cleavage specificity very different from granzyme B. Similar granzyme K-expressing cells have also been detected in tissues in several other autoimmune diseases as well as in many different cancers. Given the abundance of this cell type at the sites of disease in so many different human conditions, determining the effect of granzyme K-expressing CD8 T cells on surrounding cells is vital for understanding their role in disease pathogenesis and for determining how best to target these cells with new treatments. The specific aims proposed here…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01AR086239-02: Determining the Pathogenic Roles of Granzyme K+ CD8 T Cells Unexpectedly Expanded in Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovium and Other Diseased Tissues (2026)
- 5K08AR081412-05: Architecture and interactions of Granzyme K+ CD8 T cells in inflamed synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (2026)
- 1R01AR086239-01: Determining the Pathogenic Roles of Granzyme K+ CD8 T Cells Unexpectedly Expanded in Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovium and Other Diseased Tissues (2025)
- 5K08AR081412-04: Architecture and interactions of Granzyme K+ CD8 T cells in inflamed synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (2025)
- 5K08AR081412-03: Architecture and interactions of Granzyme K+ CD8 T cells in inflamed synovium in rheumatoid arthritis (2024)
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