Short statement:

T and B lymphocytes represent the two main components of the adaptive immune system. Both express highly diverse surface antigen receptors, namely the T cell receptor (TCR) and the B cell receptor (BCR), which are crucial for lymphocyte development, survival and activation.

My long-term research interests involve elucidation of antigen receptor signalling in immune cells, their impact on cellular fate decisions during development and activation, and their crosstalk with other receptors.

Focusing on unconventional γδ T cells, I am interested in how antigen receptor signalling steers the fate of immune cells, how signals are processed and how these new insights can be translated into new concepts of immunotherapy.

Most important publications

• Perinatal thymic-derived CD8ab-expressing γδ T cells are innate IFN-γ producers that expand in IL-7R/STAT5B-driven neoplasms.
  Sumaria N*, Fiala GJ*, Inácio D, Curado-Avelar M, Cachucho A, Pinheiro R, Wiesheu R, Kimura S, Courtois L, Blankenhaus B, Darrigues J, Suske T, Almeida ARM, Minguet S, Asnafi V, Lhermitte L, Mullighan CG, Coffelt SB, Moriggl R, Barata JT, Pennington DJ, Silva-Santos B.
  Nature Immunology, 2024 May 27. doi: 10.1038/s41590-024-01855-4. shared first authorship

• Kidins220 and Aiolos promote thymic iNKT cell development by reducing TCR signals.
  Herr LA, Fiala GJ, Sagar, Schaffer AM, Hummel JF, Zintchenko M, Raute K, Velasco Cárdenas RMH, Heizmann B, Ebert K, Fehrenbach K, Janowska I, Chan S, Tanriver J, Minguet S, Schamel WW.
  Science Advances, 2024 Mar 15;10(11). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj2802.

• Kidins220 regulates the development of B cells bearing the λ light chain.
  Schaffer AM, Fiala GJ, Hils M, Natali E, Babrak L, Herr LA, Romero-Mulero MC, Cabezas-Wallscheid N, Rizzi M, Miho E, Schamel WWA, Minguet S.
  Elife, 2024 Jan 25;13. doi: 10.7554/eLife.83943.

• Maternal γδ T cells shape offspring pulmonary type 2 immunity in a microbiota-dependent manner.
  Papotto PH, Yilmaz B, Pimenta G, Mensurado S, Cunha C, Fiala GJ, Gomes da Costa D, Gonçalves-Sousa N, Chan BHK, Blankenhaus B, Domingues RG, Carvalho T, Hepworth MR, Macpherson AJ, Allen JE, Silva-Santos B.
  Cell Reports, 2023 Feb 28;42(2):112074. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112074.

• Distinct metabolic programs established in the thymus control effector functions of γδ T cell subsets in tumor microenvironments.
  Lopes N, McIntyre C, Martin S, Raverdeau M, Sumaria N, Kohlgruber AC, Fiala GJ, Agudelo LZ, Dyck L, Kane H, Douglas A, Cunningham S, Prendeville H, Loftus R, Carmody C, Pierre P, Kellis M, Brenner M, Argüello RJ, Silva-Santos B, Pennington DJ, Lynch L.
  Nature Immunology, 2021 Feb;22(2):179-192. doi: 10.1038/s41590-020-00848-3.

• Noncanonical binding of Lck to CD3ε promotes TCR signaling and CAR function.
  Hartl FA, Beck-Garcìa E, Woessner NM, Flachsmann LJ, Cárdenas RMV, Brandl SM, Taromi S, Fiala GJ, Morath A, Mishra P, Yousefi OS, Zimmermann J, Hoefflin N, Köhn M, Wöhrl BM, Zeiser R, Schweimer K, Günther S, Schamel WW, Minguet S.
  Nature Immunology, 2020 Aug;21(8):902-913. doi: 10.1038/s41590-020-0732-3.

• Proximal Lck Promoter-Driven Cre Function is Limited in Neonatal and Inefficient in Adult γδ T Cell Development.
  Fiala GJ, Schaffer AM, Merches K, Morath A, Swann J, Herr L, Hils M, Esser C, Minguet S, Schamel WWA.
  Journal of Immunology, 2019 Jul 15;203(2):569-579. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1701521.

• Kidins220/ARMS binds to the B cell antigen receptor and regulates B cell development and activation.
  Fiala GJ, Prutek F, Janowska I, Plum T, Sprenger A, Hobeika E, Cesca F, Reth M, Dengjel J, Brummer T, Minguet S, Schamel WWA.
  Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2015 Sep 21;212(10):1693-708. doi: 10.1084/jem.20141271.