Presenter:  Timothy Errington
Faculty Advisor:  Dr. Nadia Marano
My phone # is: x7005; email: x2terri@stlawu.edu

Poster Presentation

T lymphocytes or T cells are involved primarily in controlling cell-mediated immune reactions, having the ability to recognize specific peptide antigens through the T cell receptors on their cell surface.  Aggregating the TCR complexes is necessary for activation of the cell, causing the complexes to associate with specialized parts of the plasma membrane. These regions have been labeled as detergent resistant membranes (DRM) because unlike other portions of the membrane these are not easily soluble by nonionic detergent.  The DRM is rich in glycolipids, cholesterol, and signaling proteins and are believed to act as rafting devices that allow interactions of components necessary for cell signaling to occur.  In this study, all of the lipids from resting Jurkat T cells were extracted using organic solvents.  Different classes of the lipids were separated, and analyzed by thin line chromatography (TLC).  Currently cells are being prepared to determine the difference of resting and activated T cells.  The cells will be activated using an anti-TCR antibody, and a mild ionic detergent (Triton X-100) will be used to break up the membranes of the cells.  The soluble and insoluble fractions of the cells will be separated and the lipids will be extracted and then analyzed by TLC.  This will be used to determine difference in raft components associated with the insoluble part after activation.  It is hypothesized that the lipid rafts will associate with cytoskeletal proteins upon activation.