School of Infection & Immunity

Dr Amanpreet Chawla

Title:

Maintaining Peace at Barrier Tissues: Intrinsic Rewiring of the TCR Signalosome in Innate-like T cells

Synopsis:

Barrier tissues contain large populations of self-reactive intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) that must remain restrained to prevent tissue damage. The mechanisms that enforce tolerance in these cells remain incompletely understood. I will present evidence that IEL tolerance is established through developmental rewiring of the TCR signalosome, producing a stable hyporesponsive state despite ongoing antigen exposure. Using reporter models and phosphoproteomic profiling, we define a signalling program, termed RePrESS, that selectively remodels proximal TCR signalling components. Perturbation of this architecture restores effector function and correlates with loss of tolerance in inflammatory disease contexts. These findings reveal an intrinsic signalling-based mechanism that stabilises tissue tolerance and provide a framework for understanding how autoreactive T cells are controlled at barrier sites.

Bio:

Dr Amanpreet Singh Chawla is a Senior Research Associate at the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit (MRC-PPU), University of Dundee, where he studies the molecular mechanisms that enable tissue-resident T cells to maintain immune tolerance at barrier tissues. His work integrates signalling biology, systems-level profiling, and in vivo models to understand how autoreactive lymphocytes are restrained without compromising host protection.
Dr Chawla completed his PhD in Immunology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and subsequently undertook research training at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA, before joining the University of Dundee. His research has identified developmental rewiring of the T cell receptor signalosome as a conserved mechanism that limits effector responses in intraepithelial lymphocytes.
He has authored publications in journals including Science Immunology, Nature Immunology, PNAS, and Mucosal Immunology, and has received several national (including Junior Research Fellowship and Senior Research Fellowship from the Government of India) and international fellowships (NIH T32 Training fellowship from NIH, USA).

First published: 23 April 2026

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