Team:UCSF/Project/Arsenal

<img src="Immune synapse killing-01.jpg"/>

Goal:

Direct a model protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP), to killer cells' granules by identifying and fusing granule localization "address" tags to the protein.

Approach:

One way that cancer cells can evade the immune system is by evolving resistance to the arsenal of cytotoxic proteins found in killer cells' granules. Our goal for this summer was to direct a model protein, green fluorescent protein (GFP), to killer cells' granules by identifying and fusing granule localization "address" tags to GFP. This would be an important first step toward loading granules with novel cytotoxic proteins against which cancer cells would likely be defenseless!

While it is not completely understood how killer cells send proteins to cytotoxic granules, we were able to learn a great deal about the "address" tags of various proteins that are sent to granules by searching and reading the literature. We designed a number of parts using these tags and made devices by fusing them in various combinations to GFP.

Devices:

Brief Introduction:

Concept and experimental design:

Results:

Future applications: