Characterisation of human IL-10-secreting T cells

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Investigating the induction and immunomodulatory properties of human IL-10-secreting T cells

• IRAS ID

  148117

• Contact name

  David Wraith

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Birmingham

• Duration of Study in the UK

  7 years, 0 months, 0 days

• Research summary

  Autoimmune disease occurs as a result of dysfunctional mechanisms of central and peripheral tolerance; processes which ordinarily prevent damaging immune responses. Tolerance is controlled by several types of regulatory T cells. One of them is a discrete subpopulation of CD4+ T cells, producing high amounts of interleukin 10 (IL-10), described as IL-10+ T cells. These cells can regulate peripheral responses to several types of autoantigens and allergens. The research of Prof. Wraith's laboratory focuses on the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, mainly multiple sclerosis (MS). Our studies on the animal model of MS demonstrated that inhibition of the disease coincides with the induction of IL-10 producing T cells and changes in the expression of several inhibitory molecules. We would like to investigate whether human IL-10 producing T cells exhibit similar regulatory potential and what type of molecules contribute to the suppressive potential of these cells. We aim to characterise IL-10+ T cells in healthy individuals by analysing the type of surface and intracellular molecules they express at the cellular and molecular level. These studies will open the possibility to investigate any changes in the regulatory potential of IL-10+ T cells in patients with autoimmune diseases and will also be helpful in developing novel immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune and allergic disorders.

• REC name

  North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  14/NW/0152

• Date of REC Opinion

  10 Mar 2014

• REC opinion

  Favourable Opinion