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Martin Poenie
Martin Peonie

Associate Professor

Ph.D. Stanford, 1986

poenie@mail.utexas.edu

Office PAT 543C
(512) 471-5598 ; 471-3503

 
   
T cells are an important part of our immune system and are distinctive because they carry out their function by interacting with other cells in a highly specific and directional manner. They can either kill other cells by secreting cytotoxic substances or they can help other cells by secreting special growth factors. In order to carry out these functions, they form a specialized junction with their target cell called an immune synapse. Subsequently, they move the microtubule organizing center up close to the synapse and established a special secretory zone. Finally, they deliver the contents of their secretory vesicles to this secretory zone.

We have been studying how T cells polarize their cytoskeleton in response to antigenic target cells. As part of this effort we have developed a new form of light microscopy called modulated polarization microscopy (MPM) that makes it possible to see cytoskeletal movements in living T cells. Studies using MPM provided important new insights into how this process works and given us clues about microtubules are anchored at the synapse. Currently we are studying how microtubules interact with the synapse and in particular how microtubule motor proteins become anchored there.


Selected Publications

Poenie, M., Kuhn, J. and Combs, J. Real Time Visualization of the Cytoskeleton and Effector Functions in T cells Current Opinion in Immunology In press

Kuhn JR, Poenie M. (2002) Dynamic polarization of the microtubule cytoskeleton during CTL-mediated killing. Immunity 16:111-121.

Kuhn JR, Wu Z, Poenie M (2001) Modulated polarization microscopy: a promising new approach to visualizing cytoskeletal dynamics in living cells. Biophys J 80:972-985.

Etter, E. F., Minta, A., Poenie, M., and Fay, F. S. (1996). Near-membrane [Ca2+] transients resolved using the Ca2+ indicator FFP18. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 93, 5368-73.

Vorndran, C., Minta. A. and Poenie,M. (1995) New fluorescent calcium indicators designed for cytosolic retention or measuring calcium near membranes. Biophysical J. 69, 2112-2124.
 
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