Immune Modulation / Engineering

Immune cells play important roles in controlling disease pathologies including cancer, auto-immune disease, type II diabetes or implant-associated infection, ect. Efforts have been made in (1) developing microscale platforms for in-situ isolation of rare T cell population (such as regulatory T cells (Tregs)) and investigation of their responses to artificial antigen-presenting cells (APCs), (2) promoting induction of Tregs from effector T cells by understanding T cell mechanosensing characteristics, and (3) unraveling the mechanism of CD45RB on activation of Tregs and graft survival. We continue to explore T cell activation strategy utilizing our specialties in precise lateral protein patterning technique or unique nanoparticle synthesis.

A magnetic microfluidic chamber for improved cell microscopy. (a) Device design. (b) Schematics of top and side views of the red boxed area in (a). (c) Capture and isolation of paramagnetic beads-labeled cells are carried out using a diverging magnetic field, applied during cell loading. When collection is finished, the magnet is removed and cells are released onto antibody patterns of interest (shown in red box in panel a and b).

In situ collection of rare target T cells (<1%, green) among conventional T cells (>99%, red) by using a microfluidic magnetic platform.

Regulatory T cells find and stop at micropatterned antigen-presenting-cell (APC) components.

Publications

  • J. H. Lee, M.L. Dustin, and L.C. Kam, “A microfluidic platform reveals differential response of regulatory T cells to micropatterned costimulation arrays” Integrative Biology 7:1442 (2015) 5. 

  • K. Bashour, J. Tsai, K. Shen, J. H. Lee, E. Sun, M. C. Milone, M. L. Dustin, and L. C. Kam, “Crosstalk between CD3 and CD28 is spatially modulated by protein lateral mobility” Molecular and Cellular Biology 34:955 (2014) 

  • N. Nataraj, A. P. Dang, L. Kam, and J. H. Lee*, “Ex vivo Induction of Regulatory T cells from Conventional CD4 + T Jounghyun Helen Lee, CV 3 cells is Sensitive to Substrate Rigidity,” J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A 106:3001 (2018)