Pharmacology of immune cells
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pharmacology of potential therapeutic targets on immune cells isolated from human blood
IRAS ID
313802
Contact name
Nicholas Barnes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Birmingham
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Diseases of the human immune system generally result in either overactive or misplaced immune responses (e.g., autoimmunity and allergy), or underactive, deficient immune responses that can leave the patient susceptible to opportunistic infections. Other disorders that are not traditionally thought of as having an immune component directly, are also known to affect immunity. In many cancer settings for example, the immune system is inhibited so that the patient is unable to mount a successful immune response against their tumour.
This research study will investigate the impact made by therapeutics, or potential therapeutics (collectively termed ‘test agents’), on the function of the human immune system. The work will be largely focused on therapeutics being developed for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, inflammation, and fibrosis. The aims are to identify and investigate the pharmacology of potential benefits, or potential adverse effects, in cellular targets. Ultimately, this will aid the discovery of successful new therapies that work through modulation of the human immune response.
The study, lasting 3 years, will be funded by the Medical Research Council, and will take place in research laboratories at the University of Birmingham. The methodology will involve a range of in vitro assays using human immune cells and immune components isolated from blood. The blood samples will be collected from healthy individuals recruited locally, and samples will also be obtained from NHSBT.
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/SC/0258
Date of REC Opinion
22 Jul 2022
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion