Person
Sarris, Milka
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Biography and Research Interest
We are interested in how cells of the immune system navigate through tissue environments in order to find sites of infection or injury. This is essential for defence against invading microbes, while abnormal cell migration can also contribute to inflammatory diseases.
Immune cell behaviour has traditionally been interrogated in vitro and remarkably little is still known about how these cells search tissues and read guidance cues in situ. For example, it is unclear how different guidance cues propagate within living tissues, how they might establish functional concentration gradients and how gradients instruct cell behaviours. To investigate this at the cell biology level, we use a combination of live imaging in zebrafish, quantitative analyses of cell behaviour, genetic and optogenetic tools.
Immune cell behaviour has traditionally been interrogated in vitro and remarkably little is still known about how these cells search tissues and read guidance cues in situ. For example, it is unclear how different guidance cues propagate within living tissues, how they might establish functional concentration gradients and how gradients instruct cell behaviours. To investigate this at the cell biology level, we use a combination of live imaging in zebrafish, quantitative analyses of cell behaviour, genetic and optogenetic tools.
Non-Zebrafish Publications
Munoz-Suano A*, Kallikourdis M.*, Sarris M.* , & Betz, A.G. Regulatory T cells suppress arthritis during pregnancy. Journal of Autoimmunity, 38, J103-8 (2012).
*These authors contributed equally
Sarris M. & Betz A.G. Live imaging of dendritic cell-Treg cell interactions.
Methods in Molecular Biology, 707, 83-101 (2011).
Sarris M. & Betz A.G. Shine a light: imaging the immune system. European Journal of Immunology 39, 1188-1202 (2009).
Sarris M., Andersen K.G., Randow F., Mayr, L. & Betz, A. G. Neuropilin-1 expression on regulatory T cells enhances their interactions with dendritic cells during antigen recognition. Immunity 28, 402-413 (2008).