MUCO_B
Research type
Research Study
Full title
B cell responses in mucosal associated lymphoid tissues
IRAS ID
322159
Contact name
Elizabeth Rosser
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCLH/UCL Joint Research Office
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2023/05/57 health research, UCL Data Protection Number
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
There is growing evidence that interactions between our immune system and the micro-organisms that live in our gastro-intestinal tract or ‘barrier surfaces’ influence health outcomes – supporting healthy immune responses and contributing to the onset of inflammatory disorders. Importantly, modifying these interactions through life-style changes such as diet and/or supplementation with pre/post-biotics may represent a low-cost option for modifying the immune system in many diseases, either by altering the microbiome directly or by altering the inflammatory status. However, despite this growing appreciation there remains a lack of mechanistic data that tell us how and why bacteria in barrier sites have such a drastic influence on our immune systems and how our immune systems can tell the difference between ‘good’ commensal bacteria and ‘bad’ disease inducing bacteria. To understand the mechanisms underpinning these effects, and elucidate the general principles governing immune responses, it is necessary to evaluate the role of individual immune mediators and cells in culture models in the laboratory.
While it is possible to attempt to identify associations between particular bacteria/inflammatory states at mucosal surfaces and immune cells in the periphery (blood), many of the key interactions occur at mucosal sites and more particularly with ‘hubs’ known as mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues (MALT). Therefore, to understand how commensal bacteria and inflammatory mediators influences the function of immune cells in our bodies, access to these secondary lymphoid tissues is critical. Especially, in terms of understanding the impact on immune responses to vaccination and infection. Surgical intervention where these lymphoid tissues are removed as part of clinical procedures (e.g. tonsillectomies) provides a unique opportunity to use tissue that would normally be discarded for the purposes of studying human immune responses in MALT. We would like to use these samples containing MALTs to understand more about the interaction of immune cells with pathogenic and non-pathogenic commensal micro-organisms at barrier surfaces.REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0869
Date of REC Opinion
23 Nov 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion