Characterisation of human intracellular immunity to viral infection
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Characterisation of human intracellular immunity to viral infection
IRAS ID
204246
Contact name
Leo James
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
MRC-LMB
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Our lab at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC-LMB) in Cambridge studies the immune response to viruses. We have recently discovered a new mechanism by which cells recognize and kill viruses, and have characterised this using cells and animal models. However, at present we only have a limited understanding of this immune response to viruses in humans. We want to evaluate whether the same anti-viral factors identified in the animal models will impact on human health. Viral infection is a major issue in human medicine and even non-fatal viruses have significant long-term implications and impact on society.
Therefore using white blood cells extracted from healthy human volunteers we aim to investigate the key defence mechanisms required to protect human cells against viruses. We plan to examine immune gene expression in the white blood cells and also see how these human immune cells behave when grown in the lab. It is anticipated that we will discover new ways in which the human immune system recognizes and controls virus infections. Improving our understanding of intracellular anti-viral immunity will enable us to develop drugs to enhance anti-viral immune responses, with the overall goal of preventing severe virus infections in man.
REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0997
Date of REC Opinion
25 May 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion