Doktorander/utbildningsplats

Sahlgrenska akademin utlyser doktorandplatser med placering vid institutionen för biomedicin, institutionen för medicin och institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi.
Doktorandplatserna avser två års utbildningsbidrag och två års doktorandanställning, alternativt fyra års doktorandanställning, och beräknas leda fram till doktorsexamen.
För mer information och ansökningsblankett se: http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/doktor_fran_start_till_mal/soka_doktorandplats/

http://www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/doktorandportalen/Doktor_Fran_start_till_mal/doktorandplatser/

PhD Projects at Institute of Medicine


Anti-oxidative properties of dendritic cells

Application deadline: 2010-12-08

Description of the research project
The production of oxygen radicals by myeloid suppressor cells is an important mechanism of immunosuppression in infected tissue and in several forms of malignant diseases.We have recently shown that dendritic cells (DC) efficiently protect lymphocytes from oxygen radical-induced inactivation.DCs protect adjacent lymphocytes by neutralizing oxygen radicals and by inducing elevated levels of antioxidative thiols on the surface of lymphocytes, including natural killer (NK) cells and antigen-specific T cells.We have also shown that histamine dihydrochloride (HDC) protects NK cells and T cells by inhibiting the formation and release of oxygen radicals from myeloid suppressor cells, and that HDC induces expression of DC-associated surface structures such as CD86 on human mononuclear myeloid cells.

This dissertation project aims at further outlining the interactions between radical-producing myeloid cells, DCs, T cells and NK cells.Our working hypotheses are (i) that DCs protect interacting lymphocytes from oxidant stress and (ii) that HDC facilitates DC function and thus may promote antigen presentation.These interactions will be studied using advanced laboratory techniques, including (but not limited to) FACS sorting, Luminex technology and confocal microscopy.The planned studies may contribute to understanding the regulation of antigen presentation in infected and malignant tissue, and may point to novel principles for cancer immunotherapy.