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Emily Smith, Ph.D.
Research Interests: Traditionally, CD4+ T helper (Th) lymphocytes have been divided into three subsets, Th1, Th2 and T regulatory cells according to their cytokine and transcription factor profiles. Recently a new subset of Th cells was identified with a distinct lineage from the aforementioned cells. Characterized by the production of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and termed Th17 cells, they play a role at the interface between the adaptive and innate immune response, regulating granulopoiesis, host defense against extracellular pathogens as well as perpetuating autoimmune disease. Our laboratory has recently described two additional subsets of neutrophil-regulatory T (Tn) cells that produce IL-17A in mice; gd+ T cells and CD4-CD8-αβlow. We have also reported a mechanistic role for IL-17A released by these cells and the cytokine IL-23 in the homeostatic regulation of granulopoiesis.1-3 For my postdoctoral research, I am interested in defining the individual roles that these three subsets of Th17 cells play in the regulation of granulopoiesis and autoimmune disease. |
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