The effect of the cellular environment on inhibitory receptor signaling

When the immune system is activated to fight pathogens, it should also be switched off again to prevent damage to the host.  Immune inhibitory receptors play an important role in maintaining this immune homeostasis. Malfunctioning of inhibitory receptors can lead to a breakdown of self-tolerance, subsequently leading to autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Next to autoimmunity, inhibitory receptors also play a role in cancer, since several tumors are known to use inhibitory receptors in their advantage to evade the host immune response. In the past years, cancer treatment based on blocking inhibitory receptors to boost anti-tumor immunity was invented. Unfortunately, treatment with for example PD-1- or CTLA-4-inhibitors does not cure all patients. Therefore, the Meyaard group works on inhibitory receptors such as LAIR-1, SIRL-1 and CD200R in both autoimmunity and cancer. Within this group, my PhD project will focus on understanding inhibitory receptor signaling and how the environment, such as inflammation, will influence it.