biography
“A great sense of fascination and intellectual curiosity about the mysteries of living organisms was instilled in me early on by an outstanding and very enthusiastic high school biology teacher. To a large extent, I attribute my career choice of basic scientific research to him.” – Amnon Altman, Ph.D.
Dr. Altman has been a Member and Head of the Division of Cell Biology
at LIAI since 1990. His work focuses on understanding biochemical
changes that occur in T lymphocytes once they have been engaged by an
antigen. Aberrations in T cell activation can lead to immunological
diseases, so understanding how these cells are activated is a
fundamental part of understanding how to alter T cell responses in
favor of the host.
Dr. Altman received his B.Sc and M.Sc from the University of Tel Aviv,
in Israel and his Ph.D. in 1975 from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot,
Israel. Between 1975-78, Dr. Altman received his postdoctoral training
at the National Institutes of Health and later at the Scripps Clinic
and Research Foundation (SCRF). By 1978, he had been appointed to an
Assistant Member position in the Departments of Cellular and
Developmental Immunology, Molecular Immunology and Immunology at SCRF.
From 1984 to 1990, Dr. Altman served as an Associate Member in the
Department of Immunology at SCRF.
Dr. Altman is a member of several editorial boards and research
associations as well as the recipient of such awards as the Leukemia
Society of America, Inc., Scholarship Award and the American Cancer
Society's Junior Faculty Research Award in 1979.
research focus
Amnon Altman, Ph.D., and his team study T lymphocytes - white blood
cells formed in the thymus that are essential in the body's fight
against infection and disease. In particular, they study the
biochemical changes that occur in T lymphocytes when an antigen (a
substance that can cause an immune response) activates a binding site
on the surface of the T cell, called the T Cell Antigen Receptor (TCR).
T cells mediate important functions in the immune system and are
responsible for major types of immune defense responses against
bacteria and viruses and against cancer. Because of the central
importance to immunity that T cells play, aberrations in their
activation process can prevent the immune system from being effective,
or can lead to immunological diseases.
Dr. Altman and his laboratory have already identified several proteins
critical to the proper activation of T cells. Notable among these is an
enzyme called protein kinase C theta (PKCθ), which is essential for T
cell activation and survival. Understanding this protein, and others
like it, will help in the development of immune therapies, new
treatments for autoimmune diseases, and increase the chances for
long-term survival of organ transplants.
selected publications
SWAP-70-like adapter of T cells, an adapter protein that regulates early TCR-initiated signaling in Th2 lineage cells. Immunity, 2003
SPAK kinase is a substrate and target of PKCtheta in T-cell receptor-induced AP-1 activation pathway. EMBO J, 2004
Protein kinase C-theta (PKCtheta): it's all about location, location, location. Immunological Review, 2003
Perspectives on PKCtheta in T cell activation. Molecular Immunology, 2004
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