Breadcrumb

Avinash Bhandoola, M.B., B.S., Ph.D.

Avinash Bhandoola, M.B., B.S., Ph.D.

  • Center for Cancer Research
  • National Cancer Institute
Senior Investigator
Laboratory of Genome Integrity
Head, T-Cell Biology and Development Unit

RESEARCH SUMMARY

We study the development and function of lymphocytes, that play essential roles in immune responses. My laboratory has long studied the development of T cells and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Our interests have extended to the thymic epithelial cells (TEC) that sustain T cell development, and whether their declining function with age impacts T cell immunity in the elderly and in cancer patients. We also unexpectedly discovered microenvironmental factors that influence antibody responses. Specifically, we found that the purinergic receptor P2RX4 and the channel protein Pannexin-3 together constitute an essential and defining feature of the bone marrow survival niche for long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells. Our future studies will continue to focus on lymphocytes (T cells, ILCs, and plasma cells) and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate their development and function.

Areas of Expertise

Transcription Factors That Establish and Maintain T Cell Identity
T Cell Regeneration and Bone Marrow Transplantation
Thymic Epithelial Cells
Plasma Cells

Publications

Selected Key Publications

Transcription factor Tox2 is required for metabolic adaptation and tissue residency of ILC3 in the gut

Das A, Martinez-Ruiz GU, Bouladoux N, Stacy A, Moraly J, Vega-Sendino M, Zhao Y, Lavaert M, Ding Y, Morales-Sanchez A, Harly C, Seedhom MO, Chari R, Awasthi P, Ikeuchi T, Wang Y, Zhu J, Moutsopoulos NM, Chen W, Yewdell JW, Shapiro VS, Ruiz S, Taylor N, Belkaid Y, Bhandoola A.
Immunity. S1074-7613(24)00206-1 : 2024. [ Journal Article ]

Bone marrow plasma cells require P2RX4 to sense extracellular ATP

Ishikawa M, Hasanali ZS, Zhao Y, Das A, Lavaert M, Roman CJ, Londregan J, Allman D, Bhandoola A
Nature. 626 : 1102-1107 , 2024. [ Journal Article ]

Distinct developmental pathways generate functionally distinct populations of natural killer cells

Ding Y, Lavaert M, Grassmann S, Band VI, Chi L, Das A, Das S, Harly C, Shissler SC, Malin J, Peng D, Zhao Y, Zhu J, Belkaid Y, Sun JC, Bhandoola A
Nat Immunol. 25(7): 1183-1192, 2024. [ Journal Article ]

Expression of the transcription factor Klf6 by thymic epithelial cells is required for thymus development

Malin J, Martinez-Ruiz G, Zhao, Y , Shissler SC, Cowan JE, Ding Y, Morales-Sanchez A, Ishikawa M, Lavaert M, Das A, Butcher D, Warner AC, Kallarakal M, Chen J, Kedei N, Kelly M, Brinster LR, Allman D, Bhandoola A
Sci Adv. 9(46):eadg8126: 2023. [ Journal Article ]

Myc controls a distinct transcriptional program in fetal thymic epithelial cells that determines thymus growth

Cowan JE, Malin J, Zhao Y, Seedhom MO, Harly C, Ohigashi I, Kelly M, Takahama Y, Yewdell JW, Cam M, Bhandoola A.
Nat Commun. 10(1): 5498, 2019. [ Journal Article ]

Job Vacancies

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Team

Aru
Research Fellow
Arundhoti Das, Ph.D.
Yongge
Biologist
Yongge Zhao, Ph.D.
Yi
Postdoctoral Fellow (Visiting)
Yi Ding, Ph.D.
Susannah
Postdoctoral Fellow (CRTA)
Susannah Shissler, Ph.D.
Marieke Lavaert
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW (VISITING)
Marieke Lavaert, Ph.D.
Sumit
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW (VISITING)
Sumit Das, Ph.D.
POSTODOCTORAL FELLOW (CRTA)
Jake VanBelzen, Ph.D.

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