Role of Protease Activated Receptor 4 Signalling in Regulating Differentiation and Proliferation of CD4+ T cells (360G-Wellcome-211838_Z_18_Z)

CD4+ T-cells are components of the adaptive immune system and are divided in Th1, Th2, Th17 and Tregs each with a defined function. However, their function is regulated by different innate receptors. While the way that T-cells are controlled by toll-like receptors and complement receptors has been demonstrated, very little is known about how another family of innate receptor, protease activated receptors (PARs) are regulating T-cells. PAR receptors are members of the innate G-protein-coupled receptors and while PAR1 has been already shown to modulate T-cell function, nothing is known about the role of PAR4. The host laboratory has already data showing that Treg function is increased in the absence of PAR4 expression. The hypothesis that will be tested is that PAR4 regulates T-cell differentiation. To address this, T-cells will be obtained from PAR4+ and PAR4- mice. T-cells from the spleen of these mice will be cultured in cocktail of cytokines known to differentiate CD4+ T cells in Th1, Th2, and Th17 and the phenotype, proliferation and cytokine production will be compared between PAR4+ and PAR4- T-cells. The results of this study will contribute to our understanding of the function of PAR expression on T-cells.