Research Activities

The Lahoud Laboratory have identified Clec9A, a novel DC-specific damage-associated molecular pattern receptor that is conserved in mice and humans.

Clec9A is specifically expressed by DC subsets that specialise in the uptake and presentation of antigen (Ag) from necrotic and apoptotic cells, and that are highly efficient at cross-presentation, that is the presentation of exogenous Ag in the MHC class I pathway. Clec9A binds dead cells, and plays an important role in presenting dead cell-derived Ag. Furthermore, Clec9A is an extremely promising candidate for immune modulation, as targeting Ag to DC via Clec9A markedly enhances both humoral and cellular immunity.

They have solved the crystal structure of the C-type lectin domain of human Clec9A to 1.8 Å. They have also determined two classes of Clec9A binding proteins, a cytoskeletal protein that reflects the binding of Clec9A to dead cells, and an independent protein which may be involved in downstream processing of Clec9A.

Their research is currently focused on characterising the molecular interactions that underpin Clec9A function, the role of these interactions in mediating immune responses, and the potential of targeting Clec9A for immune therapy.

Research Keywords

Researching in the following areas: Dendritic cells, Molecular biology, Vaccine development, Antigen presentation, Immunomodulation