We are a well-functioning research team tackling exciting projects that bring health and prosperity!
Our research interest
Our research group is interested in cell-cell recognition processes, i.e., how the immune cells, for example, NK cells, recognize by receptors expressed on their surface the target proteins expressed on the surface of healthy cells or of the tumor, virally infected, or stressed cells. We are interested firstly in the structure-function relationship, using a wide range of modern methods of research of protein structure, their properties and interactions, and secondly, how we could transfer the gained knowledge into a practical level, besides other things, by designing artificial protein constructs which would help the immune cells to recognize better and eliminate the target cells.
Methods used in research
Structural research of complexes of NK cell receptors and their ligands
Recombinant protein expression within the HEK293 human cell line
Biophysical characterization of proteins and their interactions (AUC, ITC, MST, DLS, DSF, SPR)
Protein crystallography, structural mass spectrometry, SAXS, cryoEM
Research of NK cell receptors’ arrangement on the surface of a living cell
Superresolution microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM)
Production of fusion constructs with IL-2 or growth factors
Expression, purification, and study of properties of fusion proteins containing protein hormones or cytokines
Production of fusion constructs of nanobodies with ligands of activation receptors of NK cells and testing their biological activity
Isolation of NK cells from the blood of healthy donors
Cytotoxicity tests of NK cells against tumour cell lines
