Diane Mathis
Department of Pathology
Harvard Medical School
77 Ave. Louis Pasteur
Boston, MA 02215
Tel: 617-432-7742
Fax: 617-432-7744
e-mail:dm@hms.harvard.edu
Website: http://cbdm.hms.harvard.edu/
18 Postdoctoral Fellows, 4 Graduate Students
Our lab works in the fields of T cell differentiation and autoimmunity, with a special emphasis on exploiting the most advanced transgenic and gene-targeting technology to engineer new mouse models. Studies on T cell differentiation focus on selection of the T cell repertoire in the thymus and cellular and molecular influences on T cell survival in the periphery. Studies on autoimmunity explore the immunological mechanisms of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and APECED. Major questions tackled are what initiates these diseases, how is their progression regulated, and what are the final effector mechanisms. Aire and FoxP3-expressing Treg cells are particular foci. In addition, modern genetic and genomic approaches are used to identify disease-modifying genes in both human patients and mouse models. The application of computational and bioinformatic strategies to these and other issues is actively pursued. Lastly, we have been engaged in a collaborative effort to develop and apply novel whole-mouse imaging strategies to immunological problems.
References:
1. Hill J, Feuerer, M, Tash K, Haxhinasto S, Perez J, Melamed R, Mathis D and Benoist C. Foxp3-dependent and independent regulation of the Treg transcriptional signature. Immunity, 2007; 27:786-800.
2. Mathis D and Benoist C. Aire. Ann. Rev. Immunol. 2009; 27:287-312.
3. Guerau-de-Arellano M, Benoist C, Mathis D. Neonatal tolerance revisited: a perinatal window for Aire control of autoimmunity. J. Exp. Med. 2009; 206:1245-52.
4. Feuerer M, Herrero L, Cipolletta D, Naaz A, Wong J, Nayer A, Lee J, Goldfine A, Benoist C, Shoelson SE and Mathis D. Lean, but not obese, fat is enriched for a unique population of regulatory T cells that affect metabolic parameters. Nat Med. 2009; 15:930-939.
5. Feuerer M, Shen Y, Littman D, Benoist C and Mathis D. How punctual ablation of Foxp3+ T cells unleashes an autoimmune lesion within the pancreatic islets. Immunity 2009; in press.
Immunology webpage updated 1/15/2010