Teaching

This Stage 3 module focusses on the recognition mechanisms used by cells of the immune system. The course is designed to take students to the forefront of knowledge in this area through an analysis of the critical experiments that form the basis of our current understanding.  The module consists of the following lectures:

Part 1.  Antigen Processing/Presentation

Lecture 1 T cells and B cells recognize Ag differently

Lecture 2 The nature of T cell epitopes

Lecture 3 Peptides associate with MHC cI and cII molecules

Lecture 4 The nature of antigen presenting cells

Lecture 5 Antigen processing pathways
 

Part 2.  The T Cell Antigen Receptor

Lecture 6 Discovery of the TCAR

Lecture 7 The TCAR complex

Lecture 8 Genetics of TCARs
 

Part 3.  T Cell Development and Tolerance

Lecture 9 The role of the thymus

Lecture 10 TCAR gene rearrangements in the thymus

Lecture 11 Positive selection of T cells

Lecture 12 T cell tolerance - clonal deletion in the thymus

Lecture 13 T cell tolerance - ignorance, anergy, and exhaustion

Lecture 14 T cell tolerance - cryptic epitopes and suppression
 

Part 4.  B Cells

Lecture 15 B cell antigen receptors

Lecture 16 B cell development

Lecture 17 Positive and negative selection

Lecture 18 Class switching and somatic hypermutation
 

Part 5.  Unconventional T cells

Lecture 19 Gamma-delta T cells

Lecture 20 Unconventional alpha-beta T cells

Lecture 21 NK cells

Lecture 22 NK cell receptors