Takeshi Egawa, MD, PhD

Research Interests

Our laboratory is interested in gene regulatory networks that govern the development and functions of T and B lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are essential for protection against pathogen invasion through their antigen-specific responses and also for establishing immunological memory. They are derived from common progenitors in the bone marrow and go through multiple developmental checkpoints during their development to establish their functional identities as well as diversity. Upon pathogen encounter, antigen-specific T lymphocytes, which are present at low frequencies under steady state conditions, increase their numbers by rapid proliferation (clonal expansion) that allows the infected host to mount a sufficient magnitude of pathogen-specific immune responses and control the infection. B lymphocytes that recognize antigen in the presence help signals from T cells also undergo clonal expansion not only to provide sufficient amounts of antibodies for shirt-term protection but also improve affinity of antibody by mutating their antibody genes (somatic hypermutation) in a specialized anatomical site, germinal center (GC), contributing to long-term immunity. As such, clonal expansion of T cells and B cells is essential for establishing protective immunity against pathogen infection. However, it is a metabolically demanding process that requires substantially elevated levels of biogenesis, and also demands protection of the genomic integrity from intrinsic genome damage associated with somatic hypermutation and extrinsic genotoxic stresses.

In our laboratory, we study how multiple transcription factors and epigenetic modifiers cooperate to facilitate 1) the development of functional lymphocyte subsets through lineage specification and commitment, and 2) durable clonal expansion of antigen-specific lymphocytes through regulation of cell cycles, biogenesis and effector differentiation. Specifically, our research focuses on the roles of Runx proteins and methyltransferases during T cell development and on the regulation of c-MYC-dependent proliferative and metabolic gene programs during immune responses to infection.

Editorial Responsibilities

Service to the University

DBBS Affiliation

• Immunology
• Developmental Biology