BIOCHEMISTRY

Biosynthesis of Microbial Glycans and Their Recognition by the Human Immune System

How do cells in our body recognize bacteria? Darryl Wesener, of the Kiessling Lab, has been looking into this by investigating the carbohydrate coat that surrounds all cells. He has found that the human protein intelectin-1 binds specifically to bacterial carbohydrates, which differ from the carbohydrates utilized by mammals. While human cells often use their surface glycans to communicate, this is an example of how our immune systems can recognize another cell as foreign. Want to learn more? Attend his Thesis Review on Tuesday, June 28 at noon in Room 1211!

Read a publication about his work here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26148048.