The role of immune cell receptors in disease
Our group study several different diseases such as type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for associations with HLA-alleles to better understand the primary risk variants. Association with HLA genes is a hallmark of most autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes with the risk haplotypes HLA-DRB1*03:01-DQB1*02:01 and HLA-DRB1*04-DQB1*03:02. We also explore mechanisms exerting the genetic HLA association. This is performed using several technologies in addition to traditional HLA genotyping, such as expression analyses of different HLA-alleles, including type 1 diabetes susceptibility and protective variants.
Our studies also include other relevant genes biologically connected to the antigen presentation performed by HLA, such as ERAP that trims peptides to be loaded in the peptide-binding groove of the HLA molecules and Killer-immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes encoding molecules on the surface of Natural Killer cells that interact with the HLA molecules.
Our studies are still running in 2021.