March 2010 - Swinburne University of Technology

March 2010 swinburne
It works by attaching DNA sequences
for luminescent protein ‘tags’ to genes for
native cellular proteins. These ‘tags’ cause
the hybrid proteins to glow green or cherry
red under laser light, allowing researchers to
observe their movement and interactions.
Dr Russell’s Swinburne research focuses
on a suite of polarity proteins that have been
conserved across the billion-year evolutionary
divide between simple nematode worms and
humans.
Polarity proteins play integral roles in
almost every aspect of a T-cell’s life cycle and
function and are a key focus of the research.
In three-dimensional space, polarity
proteins aggregate at one ‘end’ of the cell,
providing an internal reference point that
allows the cell to orient and link to its
neighbours to form the highly organised,
layered structures of bone, cartilage, soft
tissues and organs.
T-cells are motile and fluid in form and
investigations by Dr Russell and other
international investigators have shown that
the same suite of polarity proteins found in
static cells is involved in nearly every aspect
of T-cell development and function.
Dr Russell explains that polarity proteins
underpin T-cells’ ability to move, to
orientate towards biochemical cues in their
environment, to change form and function, to
recognise alien protein fragments (antigens)
presented to them by sentry cells, and to
undergo clonal expansion.
She says polarity proteins are believed
to form complexes that manipulate the
cytoskeleton, the internal network of
microtubules that stabilises and shapes the
cell, and allows it to move and make contact
with other immune-system cells.
From this, and as part of the probe into
why T-cells sometimes turn against us,
Dr Russell hopes to detail what happens
within a structure called the immune synapse,
which is involved in activating T-cells to
attack cells displaying unfamiliar antigens.
The immune synapse forms when a naïve
T-cell ‘docks’ with a specialised antigenpresenting
cell that is displaying an alien
antigen in a groove on its surface.
There is still much to be learnt about how
the cells signal each other and come together
to form the synapse, or how the antigen is
subsequently transferred to the T-cell for use
as a template to recognise and destroy infected
or mutant cells.
Dr Russell also wants to investigate
the role of polarity proteins in asymmetric
division, a process crucial to T-cell
development, maturation and activation.
In the face of threat, the immune system
must create a host of new T-cells – and it
creates these from non-specialised precursor
cells, without depleting its reserve of precursor
cells. Precursor cells are cells that are incapable
of self-renewal and instead differentiate into
one or two closely related final forms.
When precursor cells divide they can
either produce twin clones of the original cell
(symmetric division), or a non-identical pair
– a single daughter clone and a cell that has
taken the next step towards differentiating into
an activated T-cell (asymmetric division).
Dr Russell and Swinburne researchers are
developing automated systems to capture
and analyse the high-resolution images of
these processes. “We’ve come a long way in
developing the software, and in constructing
microgrids on the biochips,” Dr Russell says.
“But we still have a long way to go to
develop the microfluidic system to manipulate
the biochemical signals to the cells.
“We’ve already obtained some images
without manipulating the signalling
environment process. We’re pretty good
at imaging with standard fluorescence
microscopy, but we have to learn a whole
range of new skills to do PALM imaging.”
Dr Russell says much of the Swinburne
team’s work will depend on being able to
obtain images at the level of individual
protein molecules.
By studying T-cells undergoing normal
differentiation in vitro, Dr Russell says
they should be able to identify errors that
unbalance the process, potentially resulting
in lymphoma or leukaemia blood cancers.
“I suspect any defects in polarity and
asymmetric cell division will be apparent long
before any autoimmune problem,” she says.
“Our work is likely to make a difference
to understanding how polarisation develops,
and how it influences each step in T-cell
differentiation and activation.
“For example, when the immune system
has eliminated an infection, most of the
T-cells involved die off, leaving just a small
population of memory T-cells to keep watch
for any future infections by the same microbe.
“And we hope to define the key processes
that determine whether precursor cells will
differentiate into effector or memory T-cells.”
Dr Russell says that by providing
the first comprehensive picture of T-cell
development and maturation, the Swinburne
project should provide clues to the origins of
autoimmune disorders and help inform the
development of a new generation of vaccines
against infection and cancer. ••
Contact. .
Swinburne University of Technology
1300 275 788
magazine@swinburne.edu.au
www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine
Fast facts
ILLustrations: Paul Dickenson
Swinburne signs environmental treaty
Swinburne University of Technology has signed the Talloires Declaration,
committing itself to raising awareness about the need to move towards
an environmentally sustainable future. Created at a conference in
Talloires, France, in 1990, the declaration aims to demonstrate educational
institutions’ roles as world leaders in developing, promoting and maintaining
global sustainability. Swinburne has pledged to engage in education,
research, policy and information exchange to promote an understanding of
sustainability among staff, students and the community.
Ground control to Melbourne
A newly installed control room at Swinburne will allow astronomers in
Melbourne to remotely control
one of the world’s largest optical
telescope – 9000 kilometres
away. The facility will see
astronomers controlling the
movements of the massive twin
Keck 10-metre Telescopes on the summit of
Hawaii’s dormant Mauna Kea volcano. This is
the farthest distance from which a telescope of
this class has been remotely controlled in real time.
Online portal helps children with autism
A series of free online computer games designed for children with autism
has been created by a group of Swinburne multimedia students, the National
eTherapy Centre and Melbourne-based Bulleen
Heights Autism School. WhizKid Games aims to
help autistic children develop independent living
skills, focusing on coping with change, recognising
emotions and non-verbal communication. It includes
16 therapeutic games about everyday activities. See
www.whizkidgames.com.
What’s so good about being a gran?
Researchers from Swinburne and the University of Melbourne are
still looking for women to tell their stories about their experiences as a
contemporary grandma. Professor Susan Moore and Professor Dorothy
Rosenthal plan to write a book and are interested in hearing from all
grandmothers who believe they have something to say about this interesting
and challenging life stage. To access the anonymous survey, visit
www.granresearch.com, or call 1300 275 788 to request a hard copy.
Attitudes to GM foods unchanged
Public attitudes to genetically modified (GM) foods are not changing,
according to findings by Swinburne’s National Science and Technology Monitor.
Most Australians are still uncomfortable with
GM foods, a constant attitude since 2003. A
thousand people were interviewed in
September 2008 and when asked
how comfortable they were with
GM plants for food, the average score
was 3.9 on a scale of 10, with 0 being
‘not at all comfortable’ and 10 being ‘very
comfortable’. The study found a lack of
trust in the institutions responsible for
commercialising new plant varieties.
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