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

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

Studies on antigenicity and vaccine development.

Immunochemical aspects of schistosomiasis.

Synthetic peptides and synthetic vaccines (collaboration with Prof. M. Sela).

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis and its suppression by basic copolymers of amino acids: Relevance to multiple sclerosis (collaboration with Prof. M. Sela and Dr. D. Teitelbaum).

The possible use of antibodies for local drug delivery of the anti-cancer agent, cis-platinum (collaboration with Prof. M. Wilchek).

A. Ben-Nun

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

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.R. Cohen

Autoimmune diabetes: Pathogenesis and immune therapy.

Autoimmunity to p53 and the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (collaboration with Varda Rotter).

Regulation of immune inflammation by small carbohydrate molecules (collaboration with Ofer Lider).

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

Autoimmune T cells and tissue maintenance in the nervous system (collaboration with Michal Schwartz).

L. Eisenbach

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

Modulation of IgE-receptor interactions in the allergic response.

Design and generation of catalytic antibodies.

Immuno-gene therapy of tumors.

S. Fuchs

The basis of D2 dopamine receptor diversity: Cloning, signal transduction, development, and correlation with disease.

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor: Structure, function, and regulation of gene expression.

Myasthenia gravis: Regulatory mechanisms, epitopes, and immunodulation.

T. Lapidot

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

The role that chemokines, cytokines, adhesion molecules and stromal cells play in human stem cells homing and repopulation in vivo.

Maintenance of human stem cells in vitro by cytokines: A functional model for human gene therapy.

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

O. Lider

Analysis of the effects of cytokines on lymphocyte migration.

Analysis of cell surface adhesion receptor function.

Evaluation of the enzymatic machinery required for leukolytes migration.

Chemical and functional analysis of natural inhibitors of inflammation.

E. Mozes

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

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

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.

I. Schechter

Regulation of stage specific gene expression during the life cycle of the parasitic helminth Schistosoma mansoni by alternative splicing.

Structural and functional diversification of the heat-shock transcription factor of S.mansoni by alternative splicing.

Construction of transgenic schistosome.

M. Sela, E. Mozes

Down regulation of the clinical manifestations of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis by a dual altered peptide ligand.

M. Sela, R. Arnon, D. Teitelbaum

Mechanism of action of copolymer 1, a drug against expeallergic encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis.

M. Sela, Y. Yarden

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

I. Shachar

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

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

 This file was last modified on 08/15/2004 15:13:54

 e-mail: academic.secretary@weizmann.ac.il

| Current Research Projects | Weizmann Home Page | Academic Secretary Home Page | Search |