Investigation of Human Immune Modulation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation of human immune modulation to prevent transplant rejection and autoimmune inflammation
IRAS ID
339337
Contact name
Sushma Shankar
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 30 days
Research summary
This project is designed to develop novel treatment strategies to prevent immune injury that drives transplant rejection, autoimmunity and inflammation.
Transplantation is the gold standard treatment for end stage organ disease, improving survival and quality of life. Potent immunosuppressive medications prevent rejection and transplant failure, but come with significant side effects including cancer, life-threatening infections and failure of vaccination. This is not solely a transplantation issue; 5-8% of the world’s population suffer from autoimmune disease, with a third not responding to immunosuppressive treatment. Novel therapies are urgently required.
The interface between immune effector cells which propel inflammation, immunoregulatory cells which inhibit inflammation, and the tissue environment, is critical to the development of transplant rejection and immune-mediated inflammation. Understanding the distribution and identity of these cells and how they behave across different tissues , will enable the development of treatments to improve the lives of patients with transplants or those suffering from autoimmune disorders.
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) will recruit patients, over 18 years old, who are identified as deceased human organ donors from the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHSBT will obtained informed consent from Next of Kin under NHSBT Research Governance Standard Operating Procedures. Blood and tissue, which is surplus to organs donated for clinical transplantation, will be collected by researchers for use in the study. One blood sample will be taken prior to donation and tissue samples will be collected post-mortem. Samples will be subject to laboratory tests to evaluate the effect of transplant rejection, autoimmune injury, inflammation and the effect of potential therapeutics. Some tissues will be subject to gene expression and DNA analysis. This project is funded by the Wellcome Trust and will run until September 2028.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SC/0093
Date of REC Opinion
3 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion