HIBA: Healthy Immune & Brain Adolescence
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Adolescent development of the immune system and its relationship to normal changes in brain and behavior: a two-stage study
IRAS ID
155446
Contact name
Edward T. Bullmore
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Research summary
Adolescence is a period of major changes in behaviour and brain organization, and of increased risk for the development of psychiatric disorder. There are major developmental changes in immune structure and function during this period. We hypothesize that behavioural and brain changes are linked to developmental processes in the immune system. We propose to reproduce and extend what is already known about developmental changes in the peripheral immunophenotype of normal adolescents and young adults. We expect to reproduce prior data demonstrating reductions in thymic output of naïve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, using a peripheral marker of thymic involution, over the course of adolescence. We will test the prediction that thymically generated naïve T cells or recent thymic emigrants (measured by TRECs [T cell receptor excision circles]) are reduced in peripheral venous blood samples from a cohort of normal young adults (N=10; aged 22-24) compared to a younger cohort (N=10, aged 14-15 inclusive). We will explore cellular, transcriptomic and genetic markers using multivariate statistics and network analysis to identify changes in peripheral immunophenotypes linked to the TREC signature of thymic involution. We will measure thymic involution directly by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (i.e., MRI scan). If the results of this first study confirm that we can measure developmental processes in the peripheral immune system over the course of adolescence, we will proceed to collect comparable additional cohort data (N=80) to map developmental processes more continuously as a function of age and/or to test the hypothesis of normal gender dimorphism in immune system development. We will recruit participants from the pre-existing NSPN cohort and U-Change cohort.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EE/1058
Date of REC Opinion
15 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion