Jose Alberola-Ila, M.D., Ph.D.

Research

During T-cell development, a pool of precursor immature thymocytes undergoes a complex process of differentiation that results in the generation of two main lineages of mature T cells; CD4 T cells, which act as the orchestrators of the adaptive immune response, and CD8 T cells, which are programmed to elicit cytotoxic functions. I use a genetic approach to understand the molecular events that regulate these differentiation processes. The main focus of my laboratory at the moment is to understand how GATA-3 controls this lineage decision. To that intent, we are trying to a) determine the signal transduction elements that regulate GATA-3 expression during CD4/CD8 lineage commitment, connecting it to the Lck signals at this state; b) analyze the mechanism of action of GATA-3 using structure-function analysis; c) identify GATA-3 targets during CD4 lineage differentiation in the thymus; and d) understand the interactions between GATA-3 and TH-POK, a zinc-finger transcription factor recently identified as a central player in the development of the CD4 lineage.