Current Research Activities

Department of Immunology 

Zelig Eshhar, Head


Research topics of our Department span the wide range from basic mechanisms in the development, recognition, inter-cellular communication, trafficking, and effector functions of the immune system to the role of these processes in autoimmune disorders, allergies and cancer. Special attention is given to the studies of immunomodulation and immunotherapy of these diseases leading to the development of specific vaccines to viruses, parasites, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Specific projects include production of specific antibodies for targeting of drugs and effector lymphocytes; raising of catalytic antibodies; studies of the repertoire and specificity of the T-cell receptor in autoimmune models for multiple sclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, and myasthenia gravis; definition of antigen recognition and mode of action of killer lymphocytes in allograft and tumor rejection; understanding the developmental process of leukemias and treating them; use of cytokines for immunotherapy of metastases and immunomodulation of lymphocyte migration; immune cell adhesion and migration; the control of inflammatory processes; development of hematopoietic stem cells and T-cells activity during aging as well as understanding antigen recognition mechanisms by their receptors and its coupling to cellular response in mast cells as a model.


R. Alon
ronalon@weizmann.ac.il

Chemokine regulation of integrin adhevisiveness and cell motility.

Intracellular regulation of integrin functions implicated in lymphocyte adhesion to vascular endothelium and migration to target tissues.

Biophysics of selectin and integrin-mediated rolling adhesions in shear flow.


R. Arnon
ruth.arnon@weizmann.ac.il

Studies on antigenicity and vaccine development.

Immunochemical aspects of schistosomiasis.

Synthetic peptides and synthetic vaccines.
R. Arnon, M. Sela

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and its suppression by basic copolymers of amino acids: Relevance to multiple sclerosis.
R. Arnon, M. Sela

The possible use of antibodies for local drug delivery of the anti-cancer agent, cis-platinum.
R. Arnon, M. Wilchek


A. Ben-Nun
avraham.ben-nun@weizmann.ac.il

Demonstration of new primary target antigens (MOG, MOBP, .....) in multiple sclerosis and the implications for pathogenic processes and immune-specific therapy.

Epitope-directed immune-specific therapy of MOG-induced EAE mediated by altered peptides. Mechanisms of T cell modulation.

T cell receptor and ligand interaction in autoimmune disease.

Non-superantigenic bacterial toxins, T cell subsets and autoimmune disease.

Effect of encephalitogenic myelin-specific T cells and demyelinating antibodies on nerve conduction in the central nervous system in vitro.


G. Berke
gideon.berke@weizmann.ac.il

Cancer Immunity: a) Tetrameric MHC-peptide complexes in cancer detection and as cancer vaccines, b) Fas/Fas-L in tumor immunity c) Tumor escape mechanisms.

Immunological memory in cancer.

Apoptosis of the heart muscle.


I. Cohen 
irun.cohen@weizmann.ac.il

Autoimmune T cells and tissue maintenance in the nervous system
I. Cohen, M. Schwartz

Autoimmunity to hsp60 and the development of subunit vaccines against infectious diseases.

Regulation of immune inflammation by small carbohydrate molecules
I. Cohen, O. Lider

Autoimmunity to p53 and the development of systemic lupus erythematosus
I. Cohen, V. Rotter

Autoimmune diabetes: Pathogenesis and immune therapy.


L. Eisenbach 
lea.eisenbach@weizmann.ac.il

Indentification of human TAA peptides through differential display methods (DNA chips, SAGE) and HLA transgenic mice.

MNC classI and classII TAA peptides in anti-tumor immunotherapy.

Antigen presentation and induction of anti-tumor immunity.


Z. Eshhar
zelig.eshhar@weizmann.ac.il

Modulation of IgE-receptor interactions in the allergic response.

Design and generation of catalytic antibodies.

Immuno-gene therapy of tumors.


S. Jung 
s.jung@weizmann.ac.il

The Contribution of Blood Monocytes to Peripheral Myeloid Cell Compartments under Homeostasis and Pathogen Challenge

Definition of Dendritic Cell In Vivo Functions Using Conditional Cell Ablation


T. Lapidot 
tsvee.lapidot@weizmann.ac.il

The motility and developmental program of normal and leukemic human stem cells and the factors that regulate these processes in vivo.

  1.  The role that chemokines, cytokines, proteolytic enzymes adhesion molecules and stromal cells play in human blood forming stem cell migration, homing and repopulation in vivo.

  2.  The roles of proteolytic enzymes and chemokines in stress induced mobilization of stem cells from the bone marrow into the circulation.

  3.  Steady state homeostatic release and function of blood circulating stem cells.

  4.  In vivo migration and dissemination of human leukemic cells, the role of proteolytic enzymes and chemokines.

  5.  Hematopoietic stem cells / blood vessel wall interactions during transendothelial migration, assayed by electron microscopy.

  6.  CXCR4/SDF-1 signaling in normal and leukemic hematopoiesis.

  7.  Lentiviral vectors for stem cell gene transfer. GFP and CXCR4 overexpression

  8.  The essential roles of the adhesion molecule CD44 in normal and malignant stem cell motilitiy as assayed by confocal microscopy.

2. Differentiation of T lymphocytes from human hemopoietic stem cells in an in vivo experimental model.


O. Lider
ofer.lider@weizmann.ac.il

Chemical and functional analysis of natural inhibitors of inflammation.
O. Lider, Cohen, I. R., Schwartz, M.

  1.  Disaccharide products of heparan sulfate

  2.  Products of IL-2

  3.  Enzymatically-generated products of chondroitin sulfate

  4.  Small peptides found in fluids of human chronic wound

Analysis of the pro- or anti-inflammatory effects of novel inflammatory mediators
O. Lider, Cohen, I. R.

  1.  Heat shock proteins

  2.  Fas ligand

  3.  Acute phase proteins

  4.  Heparanase

Analysis of cell surface adhesion receptor function

  1.  Integrins

  2.  Chemokine receptors

  3.  Cytokine receptors

  4.  Fas receptor

Evaluation of the enzymatic machinery required for leukolytes function and migration
O. Lider, Vlodavsky, I., Sagi, I., Alon, R., Cohen, I. R., Schwartz, M.

  1.  Elastase

  2.  MMP

  3.  heparanase

  4.  chondroitinase

Analysis of the effects of cytokines and chemokines on lymphocyte function in inflammation

  1.  T cell activation

  2.  T cell interactions with tissue components

  3.  T cell interactions with extracellular matrix (ECM)

  4.  Apoptosis in the context of ECM


E. Mozes
edna.mozes@weizmann.ac.il

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): Mechanisms for the induction and development and approaches for disease immunomodulation.

T cell and cytokine dysregulation in autoimmune diseases.

T cell epitopes of the human acetylcholine receptor and their analogs in myasthenia gravis.

Autoimmunity in aging: The SLE experimental model.


I. Pecht
israel.pecht@weizmann.ac.il

Control of immunoreceptor stimulus-response coupling by a novel, C-type lectin of mast cells.

Studies of T-cell recognition: Interactions between antigenic peptides, MHC molecules and the T-cell receptor on living cells and in solution by fluorescence methods.

Mechanisms of electron transfer in proteins with particular reference to structure-function relationships of blue copper proteins.


Y. Reisner
yair.reisner@weizmann.ac.il

The role of megadose stem cell transplants in overcoming MHC barriers in sublethally irradiated recipients: A new approach for tolerance induction.

Mechanism(s) of tolerance induction by different veto cells.

Human/mouse chimera: New models for human antibody production and for induction of human CTLs against human tumors.


M. Sela
michael.sela@weizmann.ac.il

Down regulation of the clinical manifestations of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis by a dual altered peptide ligand.
M. Sela, E. Mozes

Mechanism of action of copolymer 1, a drug against expeallergic encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis.
M. Sela, R. Arnon

Monoclonal antibodies to ErbB2 and their respective B cell epitopes, their roles in potential anti-tumor strategy.
M. Sela, Y. Yarden


I. Shachar
idit.shachar@weizmann.ac.il

Determine the mechanisms regulating immature B cell differentiation in the spleen.

Follow the mechanisms controlling homing of immature B cells to the spleen.

 This file was last modified on 03/06/2012 13:42:07

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