Autoreactive T cells, more than previously thought:

T cells that recognize self are previously thought to be deleted during development in the thymus. Increasing evidence showed that they are much more abundant in the periphery with almost equal frequency as those recognize foreign antigens. We are intrigued by the questions how these autoreactive T cells are appropriately controlled to prevent onset of self-attacking, whether and how those T cells contribute to the arsenal for protection against infectious diseases.

Exhausted T cells: who instructed their fate?

The functions of T cells from the same clone span a spectrum from fully functional to exhausted (dysfunctional), anergic and even depleted, depending on their activation signals. The classical paradigm of signal 123 is oversimplified to explain the wide spectrum of T cell functions. We are interested in delineating the signals from antigen presenting cells and environmental cues and elucidating the molecular mechanisms that account for the wide spectrum of T cell functions, particularly T cell exhaustion.