Finding Mechanisms of Immunity to Salmonella
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Finding Mechanisms of Immunity to Salmonella
IRAS ID
155376
Contact name
Alison Simmons
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 10 months, 3 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
In addition to absorbing food nutrients, the lining of the small bowel contains immune cells that defend against harmful microorganisms. The majority of harmful bacteria trying to invade the bowel can be quickly detected and cleared by these immune cells, but if this initial response is not sufficient, other specialised immune cells will be recruited. This triggers a stronger attack response and generates long-term protection to prevent future infections.
Typhoidal Salmonella are harmful bacteria able to escape from the immune cells from the small bowel lining, causing food poisoning symptoms, fever and even death. Children from poor countries in Asia and Africa are the most affected, but the rate of the disease is now rising among travellers. There is a vaccine against one type of Salmonella, however the vaccine does not always work, cannot be given to young children and does not protect against other related species of Salmonella which also cause disease.
It is unknown why the vaccine does not afford effective long-term protection and whether having a past infection with Typhoidal Salmonella protects against future infections. It is also unclear why some individuals are resistant and do not become ill despite exposure.
This research, funded by the UK Medical Research Council, will investigate how Salmonella species that cause typhoid fever interact with the cells in the bowel lining. We will recruit outpatients from the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust who are booked to undergo gastroscopy (an examination of the stomach and small intestine) as part of their clinical care. Participants will have extra biopsies but will not exceed a maximum of 15 including those for routine care and a small blood sample taken.
By using cutting-edge and powerful molecular research we hope to understand how the body can acquire protection against Salmonella and use this knowledge to develop effective vaccines.
Summary of Results
We have utilised human blood cells and tissue obtained during the course of this work and infected these with various forms of Salmonella that cause either gastroenteritis or more severe systemic infection. We then used a series of state of the art molecular approaches to define how pathogenic forms of Salmonella escape the immune response and become invasive. These findings act as a platform for development of novel vaccine approaches.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EM/0111
Date of REC Opinion
4 Mar 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion