David Ucker
Professor
Research Interests
- Cells die normally throughout the life of an organism, and those dead (“apoptotic”) cells are recognized by phagocytes and cleared. In addition, we have found that those dead cells exert potent anti-inflammatory and other effects on the phagocytes that recognize them. Our recent studies have highlighted the profound consequences of the recognition and clearance of dead cells, accomplished by macrophages and other phagocytic cells. The process of specific apoptotic cell recognition represents a ubiquitous and unconventional dimension of innate immunity (“innate apoptotic immunity”) that discriminates dead or dying cells from viable ones and that potently modulates inflammation.
- The modulatory activity of the apoptotic corpse is manifest as an immediate-early inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine gene transcription within the phagocyte with which it interacts, and is exerted upon binding, independent of subsequent engulfment or soluble factors. The appearance of determinants for recognition and the inhibition of inflammation represents a post-translational gain-of-function, the revelation of cryptic activity during the process of physiological cell death.
- The mechanistic dissection of the specific process by which apoptotic cells are recognized and modulate immune responsiveness is fundamentally important to a complete understanding of cell death in a physiological context. The profound modulation of inflammatory responsiveness exerted by apoptotic cells also suggests that these studies may reveal new targets for inflammatory control, and novel targets for therapeutic intervention in cases of pathological inflammatory response.
At a Glance
- Title Professor
- College College of Medicine at Chicago - Basic Sciences
- Department Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Contact the Researcher
The URE website is only for undergraduate student researchers.
Sign in with your UIC account to contact this researcher.
Log in