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Alexandra M. Livingstone, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Office: (585) 275-9407

Fax: (585) 273-2452

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Research

The generation of immunological memory is essential for protection against subsequent infections. My lab works on CD8+ T cell memory. We have developed model systems for generating long-lasting CD8+ T cell memory under conditions where the antigen is unlikely to persist for more than a few days. Mice are immunised with dendritic cells pulsed with peptides defining class I epitopes; memory is evaluated by cytokine production or cytotoxicity after in vitro restimulation with antigen. CD8+ T cell priming in this system is entirely dependent on CD4+ T cell help, but does not require B cells or antibody. Mice immunised with peptide-pulsed DC show peptide-specific memory cytotoxic responses more than a year after immunisation; in contrast, protective memory declines quite sharply 8-15 days after immunisation. We are currently testing whether this is due to death of antigen-specific cells, or to their reversion to a less activated state in the absence of antigen.

Until recently, research on memory has depended on functional assays that measure memory responses at the population level. It is now possible, however, to identify antigen-specific cells using techniques that don't rely on functional assays (TCR-transgenics, MHC-peptide tetramers); in addition, the frequency of antigen-specific cells can be estimated using single cell assays for cytokine production (flow cytometry, elispots) that are very much more sensitive than limiting dilution analysis for CTL precursors. We are now combining these techniques with the DC immunisation protocol to ask basic questions about the behaviour of CD8+ memory T cells, to design successful vaccination strategies against the relevant pathogens.

Credentials

Education

1977
BS | UK-U Edinburgh Fac Med
Molecular Biology

1983
PhD | UK-Cambridge U Med Sch
Immunology

Publications

Journal Articles

11/2/2022
Livingstone AM. "Wanted: A political sociology of race in Canada." Canadian review of sociology = Revue canadienne de sociologie.. 2022 Nov 2; Epub 2022 Nov 02.

8/10/2021
Prizant H, Patil N, Negatu S, Bala N, McGurk A, Leddon SA, Hughson A, McRae TD, Gao YR, Livingstone AM, Groom JR, Luster AD, Fowell DJ. "CXCL10 peripheral activation niches couple preferred sites of Th1 entry with optimal APC encounter." Cell reports.. 2021 Aug 10; 36(6):109523.

10/28/2019
Wu EK, Henkes ZI, McGowan B, Bell RD, Velez MJ, Livingstone AM, Ritchlin CT, Schwarz EM, Rahimi H. "TNF-Induced Interstitial Lung Disease in a Murine Arthritis Model: Accumulation of Activated Monocytes, Conventional Dendritic Cells, and CD21/CD23 B Cell Follicles Is Prevented with Anti-TNF Therapy." The Journal of immunology : official journal of the American Association of Immunologists.. 2019 Oct 28; Epub 2019 Oct 28.

Books & Chapters

1993
Chapter Title: T cells involved in inductive events in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diabetes mellitus.
Book Title: Molecular Mechanisms of Immunological Self-Recognition.
Author List: Fathman, C.G.; Danska, J.S.; Livingstone, A.M.; Shizuru, J.A.
Published By: Academic Press 1993

1991
Chapter Title: Antigen presentation by neoclassical MHC class I gene products in murine rodents.
Book Title: Molecular Evolution of the Major Histocompatibility Complex.
Author List: Wang, C.-R.; Livingstone, A.M.; Butcher, G.W.; Hermel, E.; Howard, J.C.; Fischer Lindahl, K.
Published By: Springer-Verlag 1991

1988
Chapter Title: T Cell Structure/Function
Book Title: The T Cell Receptor
Author List: Hedrick, S. M.; Livingstone, A.
Published By: Alan Liss, Inc. 1988

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