Developing Tools for Prenatal Therapy using Fetal Fluid and Tissues
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Comprehensive Collection and Analysis of Fetal Tissues for Hematopoietic and Immune Cell Research
IRAS ID
329244
Contact name
Panicos Shangaris
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This study aims to enhance our understanding of hematopoiesis, which is the process by which blood cells are formed as a fetus grows during pregnancy and the interactions between immune cells and tissue cells during this. The study will include the collection of fetal tissues from the termination of pregnancies between the ages of 12-24 weeks of gestation. Cells from these tissues such as from the liver, lungs, spleen, kidney, bowel, placenta, amniotic fluid, and cord blood will then be isolated, and their function studied through various assays, including their interactions with immune cells.
We hope that by doing this we can improve transplantation therapies for blood cancers and understand the origins of infant and childhood blood cancers, due to the high blood regenerative potential the fetal cells. Additionally, our research seeks to enhance treatments for hereditary anemias, such as Sickle cell disease (SCD). We aim to do this by understanding understand how prenatal therapy can be used to treat SCD by developing gene-editing approaches in human fetal haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and delivery methods, in the hope to eventually allow in utero treatment of this condition using gene editing approaches.
We also hope to gain a greater understanding of the interaction between stem cells and immune cells which is vital for tissue homeostasis. This understanding will allow us to see how the immune system influences stem cell function and tissue repair, leading to innovative therapeutic strategies targeting a range of diseases.REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/PR/0585
Date of REC Opinion
1 Sep 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion