Seminars
Study of the immunostimulatory activity of Galectin-8 and its potentials applications
Tribulatti gave a seminar about Galectins, a group of important proteins in the regulation of the immune response and that are targets for drug development.
María Virginia Tribulatti, PhD in biotechnology and molecular biology and researcher at the Institute for Biotechnological Research (IIbio - UNSAM), gave a seminar for the members of the Center for Research in Bionanosciences (CIBION) on April 28.
The scientist explained that Galectins are a family of proteins that are involved in many biological events. They have a very important role in processes linked to the regulation of the immune response. This is a family of lectins that have become an interesting target for the development of new drugs. “Our group has begun the study of the expression and function of Galectin-8 (Gal-8) both in the onset as in the effector phase of the immune response. In particular, Gal-8 has emerged as an immunostimulatory molecule with potential adjuvant activity in vaccine systems”, explained the researcher. It has a wide distribution in the body and is implicated in cancer.
Then, Tribulatti commented on some of the advances of her research team: “Our group has studied several of the mechanisms underlying the stimulatory role of Gal-8 in the development of the adaptive immune response. Thus, we described for the first time the capacity of this lectin to costimulate the primary antigen-specific response of T lymphocytes. We also reported an activating effect of Gal-8 on endogenous dendritic cells (DC), characterized by an increase in the expression of costimulatory molecules and the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines.”
About the speaker
Tribulatti is an Independent Researcher at CONICET. She works at the Institute for Biotechnological Research, National University of San Martín (IIBio – UNSAM).
She is professor of molecular inmunology at the Institute of Biotechnological Research, National University of San Martín.