7.342  Cellular Immunity in Health and Disease (Advanced Undergraduate Seminar)

Immune cells are a diverse group of cells that function as foot soldiers to protect our bodies from both self-derived threats and exogenous pathogens, while keeping peace with normal cells and non-harmful or beneficial commensal microbiota. Immune cells are equipped with a variety of powerful and adaptable mechanisms to detect and subsequently resolve a wide spectrum of insults, a capacity that is essential for maintaining homeostasis under normal physiological conditions. However, the same mechanisms can backfire upon immune evasion of invading pathogens or under physiological stress and instead result in severe disorders, such as immunodeficiency, chronic infection and inflammation, autoimmune diseases, allergy, degenerative diseases, and cancer. Basic and translational research studies of immune cells have led to novel strategies to treat some of these disorders. In this course, we will discuss the connections between normal physiology (defense against infections, immune surveillance, and homeostasis) and disease (immune deficiency, chronic inflammation, and autoimmunity) by examining primary research papers that range from the classic to the most recent. We will discuss the developmental relationship between innate and adaptive immune cells as well as the functions and malfunctions of both types of immune cells. Our topics will include both basic biological principles (such as inflammatory and non-inflammatory cell death and immune cell signaling) and clinical applications (such as immune checkpoint blockade and chimeric antigen receptor-T or CAR-T cells). This course will familiarize students with basic immunological regulatory mechanisms and examples of strategies that apply knowledge of this fundamental biology to improve human health. More generally, students will learn how to identify relevant primary research literature, critically evaluate experimental data, and reach their own conclusions based on primary data. We will have the opportunity to learn how fundamental knowledge can be translated into a therapeutic treatment by visiting Merck , one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.