Reinherz Lab
Principal Investigator: Ellis L Reinherz
Institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston, MA)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
ABSTRACT – OVERALL T lymphocytes utilize T cell receptors (TCRs) to distinguish self from non-self through recognition of sparse antigenic peptides bound to MHC molecules (pMHC) arrayed on antigen presenting cells (APC). With remarkable specificity and sensitivity, T lymphocytes can destroy host cells altered by viruses, other infectious pathogens or cancerous transformations while leaving normal cellular counterparts intact. Until recently, it was unclear how such TCR discrimination was achieved, given a lack of somatic mutations of TCR genes to boost receptor-ligand affinity unlike with B cell receptors. Contrary to conventional ligand associations exemplified by antigen-antibody interactions, moreover, it is now evident that physical force plays a crucial role in non- equilibrium TCR-based T cell activation. Here we investigate the overarching hypothesis that the T-cell lineage receptors that recognize pMHC ligands, namely TCRs and their thymocyte-specific precursor, preTCRs, function as mechanosensors, transducing biomechanical forces to impact thymocyte development as well as T- cell antigen recognition, activation, and memory specification. Both TCRs and preTCR…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01CA265928-05: A precision tumor neoantigen identification pipeline for cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-based cancer immunotherapies (2026)
- 5P01AI143565-07: Biology and structure of pMHC receptors functioning as mechanosensors in the [alpha][beta] T-cell lineage (2026)
- 5P01AI143565-07: Administrative Core (2026)
- 5P01AI143565-07: Pre-TCR Mechanotransduction: From Biology to Structure (2026)
- 5P01AI181597-03: RNA-based HIV-1 chimera vaccines encoding a trimerizing host self-protein protomer linked to a viral MPER-TM segment (2026)
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