Citation | Anne O'Garra has made seminal contributions to understanding the regulation of cellular immune responsiveness by cell-cell interactions and cytokines. She discovered the mechanism of activation of T helper 1 ( Th 1 ) cells by showing that (a) IL-12 induces the differentiation of Th 1 cells ( with K. Murphy ); (b) the vital antigen presenting cell ( APC ), ie the dendritic cell ( DC ) produces interleukin-12 ( IL-12 ); (c) synergy with IL-18 is required; (d) IL-18 signals IRAK/NF-kB through a novel IL-1-type receptor. She was first to elucidate the mechanism of action of IL-10, which down-regulates Th 1 cell function by its broad inhibitory actions on APC. She now developed a method of growing IL-10 producing regulatory T cells using immunosuppressive drugs in wide use. |