Host-Pathogen Interactions
The response to infection involves both innate and acquired immune mechanisms. Specialized cells called macrophage can engulf invading microbes, destroy them with chemical and biological weapons, and alert the immune system to the presence of the invader by presenting digested peptides to CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes. For two major human pathogens, M. tuberculosis and HIV1, these macrophage become host cells.
We are investigating the effect of M. tuberculosis and HIV1 infection on host macrophage by studying the changes in gene expression which occur in the host after infection.