Dr. Paul Love's Research Examines New Potential Targets for Immunotherapy

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BETHESDA, Md., Jan. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Paul E. Love, an NIH investigator from Bethesda, Maryland, conducts research that is testing if human T Cell Receptor (TCR) signaling components and TCR signal modifying proteins can serve as targets for immunotherapy. This research, which could result in a ground-breaking step forward in immunotherapy, focuses on the signaling apparatus of the TCR, the receptor responsible for activation of T lymphocytes which perform critical functions in pathogen resistance and tumor surveillance.

Dr. Love has amassed more than 31 years of experience as a researcher. He specializes in immunology and is credited with an abundance of research work relevant to basic science and medicine. Dr. Love practices at the National Institute of Health (NIH), a federal agency affiliated with the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

He remains a leading figure at NIH, having served as a Senior Investigator for over 25 years. Dr. Love is the head of an immunology laboratory in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). He holds both PhD and MD degrees and is board certified in Clinical Pathology. He also was a fellow in Human Genetics at the National Institute of Health after completing his residency at Washington University.

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Applied research uses findings found by fundamental basic research to improve public health, mostly through applying basic discoveries to the treatment of human diseases. Work identifying checkpoint molecules like Ctla4, PD-1 and PD-L1, which are used to suppress or stop cell-T activation, are practical examples of applied studies. In basic experiments in mice, the blocking of checkpoint molecules was shown to contribute to enhanced killing of tumors by T cells. This breakthrough has revolutionized human cancer treatment and helped establish a modern and exciting area of medicine called immunotherapy.

In Dr. Love's lab, two research lines have revealed possible translational applications of basic research for human medicine. One line is centered on the structure and function of the TCR with a particular interest in the signal transducing modules called immune-receptor-tyrosine-based activation-motives (ITAMs) contained within the six signal transducing subunits of the TCR. Dr. Love's group is investigating if modification of the TCR ITAM sequences can improve cell activation and function, in particular tumor cell killing activity. Thus, this work is testing if TCR signal transducing subunits can be 'tailored' to enhance TCR mediated cell activation and tumor killing. The second line of research is focused on defining and characterizing a class of molecules, known as tuning molecules, that work to dampen TCR signals acting as signal controlling proteins. Though identified in mice, tuning molecules are also expressed in human T cells, and therefore represent attractive targets for immunotherapy.

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