Ours is an Immunology laboratory that is interested in teasing out the intricacies of immune response and immune tolerance. To that end, we are interested in deciphering the molecular pathways that help maintain the balance between immune response and immune tolerance and utilize that knowledge to better understand autoimmune disease pathogenesis and cancer development.
Immunotherapy is the technique of utilizing one’s own immune system to treat various diseases by inducing, enhancing or suppressing an immune response. The final goal of immunotherapy is to be able to manipulate pertinent immune system components without disturbing the rest. Manipulation of a cellular compartment such as T cells in its entirety or systemic manipulation of immunogical pathways such as costimulatory molecules leads to deleterious side effects like rendering the individual immunocompromised. Therefore, targeted immunotherapeutic strategies which deal with specific cell populations instead of such big-hammer approaches, should be the way forward for the field. Conforming to that idea, we are working to develop T cell-based novel immunotherapeutic strategies in cancer and autoimmunity with the ultimate goal of the development of personalized medicine.
Another interest of the group is to investigate the contribution of skin-resident microflora in regulation of systemic immunity. This will help establish the role of skin-resident microflora on the pathogenesis of autoimmune skin diseases; and tease out the correlation of MHC class I alleles with skin-resident commensals that will help better understand the process of establishment of the microflora and to assess the impact of environmental factors on the colonization process. This is a very important factor in today’s world of extensive migration by the human population out of their native environment. Parallely, in-depth study of the T cell repertoire will be undertaken to understand how the immune system is educated by the skin-resident commensals.

All Publications

Activation and differentiation of cognate T cells by a dextran-based antigen-presenting system for cancer immunotherapy by Mahata D., Mukherjee D. , Biswas D. , Basak S. , Basak A. J., Jamir I. , Pandey N. , Khatoon H. , Samanta D. , Basak A. , Mukherjee G. European Journal of Immunology - (2023)
Structural and functional characterization of a single-chain peptide-MHC molecule that modulates both naive and activated CD8+ T cells. by Samanta D*, Mukherjee G*, Ramagopal UA, Chaparro RJ, Nathenson SG, DiLorenzo TP, Almo SC. (* Contributed equally) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 108 - (2011)
A nanobody based ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for the detection of soluble CTLA-4 -A candidate biomarker for cancer development and progression by Pandey N., Mandal M. , Samanta D. , Mukherjee G. , Dutta G. Biosensors and Bioelectronics - (2023)
Peptide-MHC complexes: dressing up to manipulate T cells against autoimmunity and cancer. by Sahoo A., Mukherjee D. , Mahata D. , Mahata D. , Mukherjee G. Immunotherapy - (2022)
Structural Insights into N-terminal IgV Domain of BTNL2, a T Cell Inhibitory Molecule, Suggests a Non-canonical Binding Interface for Its Putative Receptors by Basak A. J., Maiti S. , Hansda A. , Mahata D. , Duraivelan K. , Kundapura . V., Lee . , Mukherjee G. , De S. , Samanta D. Journal of Molecular Biology 432 5938-5950 (2020)
Soluble immune checkpoint molecules: Serum markers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis by Chakrabarti R., Kapse B. , Mukherjee G. Cancer reports 2 - (2019)
Delivery of siRNAs to dendritic cells using DEC205-targeted lipid nanoparticles to inhibit immune responses by Katakowski JA, Mukherjee G, Wilner SE, Maier K, Harrison MT, DiLorenzo TP, Levy M, and Palliser D Mol. Ther. 24(1) - (2016)
Glucagon-reactive islet infiltrating CD8 T cells in NOD mice. by **Mukherjee G, Chaparro RJ, Schloss C, Smith C, Bando CD ,**DiLorenzo TP (** corresponding author) Immunology 144(4) - (2015)
Compensatory mechanisms allow undersized anchor-deficient Class I MHC ligands to mediate pathogenic autoreactive T-cell responses. (Selected by Faculty 1000 for exceptional impact) by Lamont D*, Mukherjee G*, Prakash RK, Samanta D, McPhee CG, Kay TWH, Almo SC, DiLorenzo TP, Serreze DV.(* Contributed equally) J Immunol. 193(5) - (2014)

Completed Projects

Principal Investigator

Development of a multiplexed autoantibody detection device and identification of autoreactive CD8+ T cell specificities in Type 1 Diabetes patients in India INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (ICMR)
Investigation of the role of a novel interaction between T cell inhibitory molecule PD1 and E-cadherin in peripheral tolerance and immune evasion by tumor cells MHRD-STARS
Label-Free Detection Of Circulating Exhausted CD8+ T Cells Using Raman Spectroscopy In Murine Models Of Metastatic And Non-Metastatic Cancer Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)
Label-Free Detection Of Circulating Exhausted CD8+ T Cells Using Raman Spectroscopy In Murine Models Of Metastatic And Non-Metastatic Cancer Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)

Co-Principal Investigator

Deciphering the role of a novel interaction between nectin-4 and E-cadherin in tumor development and progression Department of Biotechnology
Development of a soluble form of TIGIT to modulate tumor-specific cytotoxicity of NK and T cells as a therapeutic strategy in breast cancer INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (ICMR)
Fabrication of a smart lab-on-a-chip to detect salivary biomarkers of oral cancer and malignant transition of oral premalignancy for point-of-care diagnostics and machine learning-based predictive modelling INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (ICMR)

Alumni members