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Jiangnan Liu: A new role of a viral immunosuppressive peptide motif

PhD defense, Wednesday 10 April 2019. Jiangnan Liu.

Jiangnan Liu

During his studies, Jiangnan Liu researched the immunosuppressive domain (ISD) in gammaretroviral envelope proteins. ISD is playing a key role in escaping the immune system of the host. Such ISD motifs delay or prevent a reaction of the adaptive immune system not only against the virus but also against cells that display the viral envelope protein. This immunosuppressive ability can be switched off by the substitution of two amino acids. The properties of the ISD make it a potential biotherapeutic agent for autoimmune disease therapy. Jiangnan Liu studied the function of ISD when expressed as a trimer on the cell surface. Unexpectedly, a stimulatory instead of an inhibitory effect on the immune system was observed in his in vitro studies. It gives a clue of intricate function of ISD when displayed as different forms.

The new research findings contribute to the understanding of the complicated function of ISD when formed as trimers on a heterologous scaffold on mammalian cells.

The PhD degree was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science and Technology, Aarhus University.

This résumé was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Wednesday 10 April 2019 at 11.00
Place: Building 1135, room 412, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: Display of immunomodulatory viral peptides on mammalian cells
Contact information: Jiangnan Liu, e-mail: jnl@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 91984161
Members of the assessment committee:
Senior Staff Scientist Mireia Peligrin, Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, Montpellier University of Excellence, France
Professor Karen Dybkær Sørensen, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, Denmark
Associate Professor Anni Hangaard Andersen (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Main supervisor:
Professor Finn Skou Pedersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Co-supervisors:
Senior Researcher Mogens R. Duch, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Associate Professor Luis Alvarez-Vallina, Department of Engineering, Aarhus University

Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defense is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Science and Technology/GSST, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1520 and 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.