PhD defence E.G.M. (Emma) Tondeur

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

To maintain a healthy body, continuous surveillance by both parts of immune system, innate and adaptive is necessary. The adaptive will spring into action when the innate system cannot protect the body sufficiently. The adaptive immune system is capable of learning to recognize new intruders, such as cancer cells or viruses. One of the most important strategies of this system is based on checking the proteins produced by every cell in the body. Indeed, if a virus has entered a cel, or if a cell has transformed into a cancer cell, the proteins produced in this cell will also change. The presentation of proteins on the cell surface is also called direct presentation and takes place on a special stage, called major histocompatibility complex class I or MHC-I for short. These proteins are then viewed by the so-called T-cells of the adaptive immune system, and if these proteins are ‘abnormal’, the cell will be cleared. To ensure the T-cells know which proteins are normal which are abnormal, they are instructed by professional presenting cells. These cells are able to show proteins from other cells on their own stage, and will instruct the T-cells which ones are abnormal and dangerous and which are not. This process is called cross-presentation. In this thesis the molecular details of direct presentation and cross-presentation are further investigated, in the hope of improving both processes. Improvement in these processes will help in the development of vaccines against bacteria/viruses and immunotherapies against cancer.