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Todd Ashworth, B.S., Biochemistry, The mechanism by which TFII-I functions in B
lymphocytes is not fully understood. It was recently demonstrated
that Bruton’s tyrosine kinase associates with TFII-I in
the cytoplasm. Upon Btk activation, TFII-I is phosphorylated and
dissociates from Btk resulting in nuclear translocation of TFII-I
and transcription of target genes. The downstream targets and
functional effects of TFII-I activation are unknown. Xid mice,
which are deficient in Btk, lack the ability to proliferate upon
antigenic stimulation and undergo apoptosis as a result. I am
studying the in vivo function of TFII-I using RNAi. Briefly, B
lymphoma cell lines are infected with retrovirus containing shRNA,
which results in knockdown of TFII-I expression. Ultimately, I
plan on using RNAi technology to study the function of TFII-I
in primary B cells. |
