Mechanisms of signal transduction by membrane receptors

Our current research interest is in signal transduction and signaling molecules as drug targets or disease biomarkers. In our laboratory we have focused our interest on the early signaling events triggered by CD38 or CD3 engagement in T cells from patients and mice with autoimmune diseases. Our background is in cell signaling is now addressed with a more integrated view of the different signaling pathways and the incorporation of the new technologies that allow multiple measurements per sample (multiplex immunoassays, protein microarrays, PCR) and the use of a proteomic approach to find new biomarkers in human and animal models of autoimmune diseases. In this sense, gene-deficient and transgenic mice are used in combination with with other technologies as confocal microscopy, flow-cytometry, RNA interference to disect which specific signaling pathways are altered in the course of the disease.