ProfessorJames Pease
Professor of Leukocyte Biology
National Heart & Lung Institute - Faculty of Medicine
Orcid identifier0000-0003-3749-0341 (opens in a new tab)
- Professor of Leukocyte BiologyNational Heart & Lung Institute - Faculty of Medicine
- 020 7594 3162 (Work)
- 109, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus, United Kingdom
RESEARCH
Overview
Research in the Pease lab focusses upon leukocyte chemoattractants and their receptors, notably the chemokine family. My interests cover most aspects of their biology. A major focus over the years has been the characterisation of small molecule and biological antagonists of chemokine receptors. This is with the ultimate aim of intervening in the inflammatory process by blocking key receptor:chemokine axes.
Current topics in the lab include:
• Corruption and subversion of the chemokine system by microbial proteases
This is a collaboration with Professors Shiranee Sriskandan (Department of Infectious diseases) and Steve Matthews (Department of Life Sciences). We are characterising the C5a and CXCL8 peptidases of Streptococcus pyogenes with a view to understanding their function and exploiting the knowledge in vaccine design and antagonist development (funded by a Wellcome collaborative award).
• Elucidation of atypical chemokine biology e.g. CXCL4 and CXCL17
Work in this area is focussed upon on examining CXCL4 signalling in monocytes and T cells and elucidating the precise biological role of the orphan chemokine CXCL17
• Biased agonism as a feature of chemokine signalling
Biased agonism is a key feature of chemokine signalling which suggests that ligands have distinct functions at chemokine receptors. Our goal here is the fine tuning of chemokine receptor antagonists which may fare better in the clinical setting.
• Exploiting chemokines and their receptors diagnostically
An active collaboration with Professor Sejal Saglani (NHLI) and colleagues at the Royal Brompton Hospital, assessing the potential for assays of granulocyte chemotaxis to support the diagnosis and treatment of paediatric respiratory disease.
Research in the Pease lab focusses upon leukocyte chemoattractants and their receptors, notably the chemokine family. My interests cover most aspects of their biology. A major focus over the years has been the characterisation of small molecule and biological antagonists of chemokine receptors. This is with the ultimate aim of intervening in the inflammatory process by blocking key receptor:chemokine axes.
Current topics in the lab include:
• Corruption and subversion of the chemokine system by microbial proteases
This is a collaboration with Professors Shiranee Sriskandan (Department of Infectious diseases) and Steve Matthews (Department of Life Sciences). We are characterising the C5a and CXCL8 peptidases of Streptococcus pyogenes with a view to understanding their function and exploiting the knowledge in vaccine design and antagonist development (funded by a Wellcome collaborative award).
• Elucidation of atypical chemokine biology e.g. CXCL4 and CXCL17
Work in this area is focussed upon on examining CXCL4 signalling in monocytes and T cells and elucidating the precise biological role of the orphan chemokine CXCL17
• Biased agonism as a feature of chemokine signalling
Biased agonism is a key feature of chemokine signalling which suggests that ligands have distinct functions at chemokine receptors. Our goal here is the fine tuning of chemokine receptor antagonists which may fare better in the clinical setting.
• Exploiting chemokines and their receptors diagnostically
An active collaboration with Professor Sejal Saglani (NHLI) and colleagues at the Royal Brompton Hospital, assessing the potential for assays of granulocyte chemotaxis to support the diagnosis and treatment of paediatric respiratory disease.