The Pieters Laboratory—News

November 08, 2022, Biozentrum

CONTROL OF CELL POPULATION SIZES: WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

The team led by Prof. Jean Pieters at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has uncovered a cell-intrinsic mechanism, that controls the appropriate number of T cells in the organism and thus ensures that the immune system functions properly. This mechanism has also been found in slime molds, suggesting that this regulation of cell density is evolutionarily conserved. More

December 21, 2021, Biozentrum

T cells: No time to die

They are at the forefront in the fight against viruses, bacteria, and malignant cells: the T cells of our immune system. But the older we get, the fewer of them our body produces. Thus, how long we remain healthy also depends on how long the T cells survive. Researchers led by Prof. Jean Pieters of the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have now uncovered a previously unknown signaling pathway essential for T cell viability. See more

January 14, 2019, Biozentrum

Engineered T cells promote long-term organ transplant acceptance

Organ transplant rejection is a major problem in transplantation medicine. Suppressing the immune system to prevent organ rejection, however, opens the door to life threatening infections. A team of researchers led by Prof. Jean Pieters at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has now discovered a molecular approach preventing rejection of the transplanted graft while simultaneously maintaining the ability to fight against infections. See here for more