Anton van der Merwe

My group studies the mechanism by which leucocytes such as T and NK cells recognise infected or otherwise abnormal cells. In T cells this is mediated by cell surface molecules such as the T cell antigen receptor (TCR). The first step in TCR signal transduction following ligand engagement is tyrosine phosphorylation of the TCR/CD3 complex, which we term triggering. In 1996 Simon Davis and I proposed a new model of TCR triggering, termed the kinetic-segregation model. Much of our research focuses on testing this model and extending it to other receptor-ligand systems, such as those involved in NK cell recognition. We have proposed that a large number of leucocyte cell-surface receptors (over 70 members), which we refer to as Non-catalytic Tyrosine phosphorylated Receptors or NTRs, trigger by the KS mechanism. Research Details Molecular interactions involved in recognition of abnormal or infected cells by leucocytes. These includes interactions with the extracellular ligands as well as with intracellular signalling molecules.  Mechanism of triggering by the TCR and other NTRs, focusing on the kinetic-segregation model of triggering and signal integration between multiple receptors