MAGPIE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Mechanisms of Autoimmunity: Genes, Pathways and Immunological Effects
IRAS ID
303848
Contact name
James Lee
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Autoimmune diseases are on the rise, and now affect more than 1 in 10 adults in the UK. These lifelong, incurable illnesses often develop in young people and can have enormous effects on sufferers' lives, not to mention considerable financial implications for health services.
Almost all autoimmune diseases require better treatments, but the failure rate of drugs entering clinical development is high - in part because we still don't understand these diseases well enough.
Genetic studies to identify changes in our DNA that contribute to autoimmune disorders have been incredibly successful. This provides a unique opportunity to better understand these diseases.
This non-interventional experimental medicine research programme is designed to uncover the molecular and cellular mechanisms that are responsible for genetic associations in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. To do this, we will use blood / tissue samples provided by patients or healthy volunteers to study how tiny changes in DNA might affect the normal functioning of the immune system. This will be done using a series of experimental tools that we have developed in our research laboratory and should not only improve our understanding of these conditions, but also provide a means of identifying new treatments for patients in the future.
REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0682
Date of REC Opinion
28 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion