Host: Paul Verkade

Abstract: Our immune system relies on the transient formation of protein complexes and receptor clustering to regulate activating and inhibitory signals. These interactions are generally lost when performing structural biology on purified proteins. To address this, we have developed minimal systems to recapitulate native protein-protein interactions, including the use of antigenic cell mimetics and DNA origami platforms to perform both biophysical analysis and structural biology of immune system complexes. We have also developed techniques and tools to move towards fully-native in situ structural biology using super-resolution light microscopy correlated with cryoEM (super-res-cryoCLEM), which allows us to locate individual proteins or complexes within whole cells for subsequent cryoEM imaging and structural analysis.