Pharmacology Faculty

Bianca M. Conti-Fine, M.D.
Distinguished McKnight University Professor

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Publications

Research Interests

The research efforts of Dr. Conti-Fine's group are focused towards understanding the molecular interactions occurring in human autoimmune diseases between autoantigens and immune antigen receptors]. The long-term aim is to take advantage of the powerful combination of biochemical, biophysical and molecular biological approaches to elucidate at the molecular level how an autoimmune response develops in humans, and how it is initiated. Towards these goals, they are investigating the surface structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (ACHR) and the molecular interactions occurring in the T cell compartment of the human immune system during the autoimmune response to the muscle ACHR that causes the disease Myasthenia Gravis (MG). They chose MG as a model of the increasingly large group of autoimmune diseases, because the identity, primary structure and several important structural and functional features of the autoantigen involved, the muscle ACHR, are known. This offers a unique opportunity to study at the molecular level how the human immune system recognizes a complex autoantigen, and which parts of the autoantigen are involved in activation of the different components of the immune system which cooperate in the development of this autoimmune response.

As a control model system, they are studying the T helper response of healthy humans to tetanus toxoid (TTX) and diphtheria toxoid. Comparing and contrasting the molecular interactions occurring in autoimmunity with those happening during a normal T helper response to exogenous antigens will identify potential differences between autoimmune and normal responses. Their group has already identified a large part of the epitope repertoire on the human ACHR and on TTX recognized by the T helper cells of MG patients and of healthy controls, respectively. They are now investigating the structure of the autoimmune and of the normal T helper epitopes, and their mechanisms of interaction with the human DR molecules which presents the epitopes to the T helper cells. Furthermore, they are investigating the genes involved in the making of the TcR's expressed by the autoimmune anti-AChR T helper cells, and by normal anti-TTX T helper cells.