93272 - ADVANCED IMMUNOLOGY

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Alla fine delle lezioni, lo studente dovrebbe conoscere i meccanismi cellulari e molecolari che regolano il funzionamento del sistema immunitario, nonché le attuali e moderne possibilità di dispiegare attività immunitarie a fini terapeutici. In particolare, lo studente conoscerà: i) le strategie genetiche che consentono la diversificazione delle risposte immunitarie agli antigeni; ii) la generazione e l'uso di anticorpi monoclonali; iii) strategie di immunosoppressione; iv) generazione di recettori dell'antigene chimerico.

Contenuti

Course contents

• Receptors of the natural Immunity: TLR, NLR and inflammasomes, cGAS-Sting, RLR, etc. Connection with inflammation. PAMP and DAMP. Regional Immunity. Interactions between immune cells and gut microbiota.
• Organization of genetic loci for the receptors of NK cells. Memory of the innate immunity: trained immunity.
• Organization of genetic loci for antibodies and TCR. Generation of receptor repertoire: mechanisms of combinatorial differentiation (somatic recombination), and junctional differentiation.
• Molecular mechanisms of the isotypic shift; affinity increase and somatic hypermutation.
• Synthesis of monoclonal antibodies. Nomenclature CD. Immunophenotypization with flow cytometry and other methods. Cell sorting and single-cell analysis.
• Applications of monoclonal antibodies in biomedical research, diagnostics and clinic practice.
• Mechanisms of gene regulation: DNA methylation. Experimental data of methylation changes with age.
• Organization of MHC genetic locus. Polymorphism of MHC genes. Genes for MHC I, II and III. HLA genotyping. Antigen presentation on MHC class I or II molecules. MHC in diagnostics: the tetramers. Macroautophagy and chaperon-mediated autophagy: importance for the immune responses.
• Tolerance breakdown. Autoimmunity. Immunopathology: classification of hypersensitivities. Allergies: features and pathogeneic mechanisms; Type II, III and IV hypersensitivities.
• Congenital and acquired immunodeficiencies. SCID and other immunodeficiencies of lymphocyte maturation. Innate immunity Immunodeficiencies. Acquired Immunodeficiencies due to immunosuppression, chemotherapy, malnutrition, viral infections.
• Cancer Immunology: immunological features of tumors. Cancer Antigens. Cancer Immunotherapy: monoclonal Abs. Anti-PD-1 and PD-L1; CAR-T cells: generation and use.
• Aging of the immune system: immunosenescence and inflammaging. Cell senescence and SASP: the role in human aging and age-related diseases. Inflammaging and the special case of Covid-19.

Testi/Bibliografia

Abbas, Lichtman, Pillai: Cellular and molecular immunology, 2018 (ninth edition), Elsevier.

Kenneth Murphy & Casey Weaver: Janeway's Immunobiology, 2017 (9th Edition), Garland Science.

Metodi didattici

Frontal lessons with ppt slides unless otherwise stated by current provisions. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, students are allowed to attend the classes online with the TEAMS platform.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Oral examination. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the exams are given online with the Microsoft Teams platform in oral form until new provisions. Students must register as usual in Almaesami, and they will receive an e-mail with the link and timetable of the exam session.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Ppt files available at IOL platform for UNIBO students.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Stefano Salvioli