NIH grant: Cellular and molecular determinants of human lymphocyte migration (1R35GM161229-01)

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NIH grant 1R35GM161229-01: Cellular and molecular determinants of human lymphocyte migration
Institute: {'code': 'GM', 'abbreviation': 'NIGMS', 'name': 'National Institute of General Medical Sciences', 'admin_org_id': '12500024', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Emily Margaret Mace. Award: $447890.
Start: 2026-08-15T00:00:00.
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
My lab studies the dynamic interactions that shape human innate lymphocyte differentiation
within tissues. This proposal focuses on our emerging work that broadly seeks to define how
spontaneous cell migration and motile scanning are programmed and regulated in immune
cells. Specifically, I will use my expertise in cell biology and immunology to address two key
questions, namely, 1) understanding how the glycoprotein CD56/NCAM functions and the role it
plays in interactions with integrins, the actin cytoskeleton, and other cell surface receptors, and
2) understanding how intrinsic and extrinsic signals regulate spontaneous migration of human
immune cells. These studies advance our previous NIGMS-funded work showing that
CD56/NCAM regulates integrin detachment during cell migration in human NK cells. While we
focus here on CD56/NCAM, this work has exciting implications for the role that other neuronal
proteins play in cells of other lineages. Our previous studies of CD56/NCAM also launched a
new line of investigation in my group focused on defining properties of motile scanning that are
acquired during NK cell differentiation. This topic addresses the most fundamental elements of
cell motility; namely, how the critical function of human immune cell spontaneous migration is
generated and regulated. While cell adhesion, actomyosin contractility, energy usage, and
chemical signaling are known to play roles in cell motility, there are few studies that examine
how these signals are generated and integrated by single immune cells undergoing amoeboid
migration in diverse and complex microenvironments. With our technical proficiencies in the
study and manipulation of human lymphocytes, and our expertise in cell biology and advanced
imaging and image analysis techniques, my group is uniquely poised to address these big,
exciting questions in the field.

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