FlowCodes, a Flow Cytometry-based Platform for Massive Parallel In Vivo Screening

About the Speaker

Adrian Liston, PhD - Professor of Pathology, University of Cambridge

Dr. Liston has extensively worked in the cellular control over immune/tolerance switches, and how molecular defects in these switches can lead to pathologies ranging from autoimmunity and primary immunology to diabetes and neuropathology. By researching a broad range of pathologies, and using both patient samples and animal models, Liston’s research is able to identifying the common cellular pathways to pathology. Liston has been awarded the Francqui Chair, the Eppendorf Prize and fellowship to the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society of Biology. Liston currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Immunology & Cell Biology.

Webinar Summary

The tissues are the site of many of the most important immunological reactions, yet the immunology of the tissues has remained relatively opaque. Recent studies have identified Foxp3+ regulatory T cells(Tregs) in several non-lymphoid tissues. These tissue-resident populations have been ascribed unique characteristics based on comparisons to lymphoid Tregs. To understand key aspects of this tissue Treg population, we need technological approaches thatare suitable for the assessment of low cell number sources with high dimensionality, such as flow cytometry, to be coupled with massively parallel screening technologies (e.g. CRISPR screens, TCR clonality screens). We modified the ProCodes technology into FlowCodes, a flow cytometry-based platform suitable for in vivo analysis. Using this system, we found that T cell receptors (TCRs) extracted from tissue Tregs conferred Treg fate and also multi-organ homing. These results demonstrate that tissue-resident Tregs are largely constituted by broadly self-reactive Tregs, characterized by transient multi-tissue migration and a common residency program.

Learning Objectives

Regulation of T cell mediated tolerance
Understanding tissue resident versus lymphoid origin regulatory T cells
Development and Utilization of FlowCodes: A flow cytometry-based platform suitable for in vivo analysis

Who Should Attend?

General interest to beginner and advanced flow cytometrists
SRL staff interested in development and implementation of multiplexing technology
Immunologists interested in T cell biology

CMLE Credit: 1.0