Lakshmi C. Wijeyewickrema PhD, La Trobe University

Lakshmi C. Wijeyewickrema PhD
Lakshmi C. Wijeyewickrema PhD

Dr. Wijeyewickrema's laboratory researches enzymes, called proteases, which operate at the interface between a host, such as a human being and microbes that cause disease. Pathogens such as bacteria secrete proteases to breach host defenses. Yet, their primary host defense system, the immune system, also uses such enzymes to protect us from pathogens. Their research focuses on understanding the biology of enzymes from bacteria and humans, so we that can develop compounds to protect against diseases.

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References

  1. Duncan RC, Mohlin F, Taleski D, Coetzer TH, Huntington JA, Payne RJ, Blom AM, Pike RN, Wijeyewickrema LC. Identification of a catalytic exosite for complement component C4 on the serine protease domain of C1s. J Immunol. 2012 Sep 1;189(5):2365-73.
  2. Wijeyewickrema LC, Yongqing T, Tran TP, Thompson PE, Viljoen JE, Coetzer TH, Duncan RC, Kass I, Buckle AM, Pike RN. Molecular determinants of the substrate specificity of the complement-initiating protease, C1r. J Biol Chem. 2013 May 31;288(22):15571-80.
  3. Duncan RC, Bergström F, Coetzer TH, Blom AM, Wijeyewickrema LC, Pike RN. Multiple domains of MASP-2, an initiating complement protease, are required for interaction with its substrate C4. Mol Immunol. 2012;49(4):593-600. doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2011.10.006