Hospital for Special Surgery
NEW YORK, NY, United States
The Lu Lab studies how the immune system interacts with tissues to limit or promote autoimmune and musculoskeletal diseases. There is a circuitry whereupon injury or infection, the affected tissue sends signals to lymphoid tissues such as lymph nodes, which are the sites of T and B cell activation. T and B cells in lymph nodes may become activated by these signals causing lymph node swelling, and then migrate from the lymph nodes to the affected tissue. There, they may help to control the infection but are also capable of inadvertently causing tissue destruction. In autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as lupus, tissues such as the skin are more prone to injury to begin with, and there is activation of T and B cells that destroy tissues. We want to better understand the functions of the component parts of this circuitry as well as how the component parts interact to yield health versus disease. For example, we are asking 1) why tissues in disease are more prone to injury and 2) how signals from affected tissues modulate the lymph node microenvironment to regulate the activity of T and B cells.
We address the questions from a number of perspectives, including 1) lymph node vascular-stromal microenvironment that controls T and B cells in autoimmune and musculoskeletal conditions, 2) Langerhans (immune) cell protection of skin in lupus photosensitivity , 3) lymphatic dysfunction in disease, and 4) the role of immune cells in tissue repair.
Disclosure information not submitted.
Sunday, November 13, 2022
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Eastern Time
