By manipulating it in
vitro, a team of researchers led by Prof. David Mooney at Harvard SEAS have identified a possible mechanism by which normal cells turn malignant in mammary
epithelial tissues, the
tissues frequently involved in breast cancer.
Therefore the group studies with sophisticated imaging technology in
vitro and ex vivo: i) the molecular mechanism driving the migration of HIV through the intestinal
epithelial barrier; ii) the cellular targets in the mucosa, in specific macrophages and DCs, to identify the possible pathways to invade the
tissue and disseminate to other organs; iii) the involvement of DCs and their functional properties in mediating adaptive immune responses at mucosal level; and iv) the role of antibodies with different effector functions in changing the pathways of the virus.