Study of circulating immune cells in peripheral blood
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Study of factors that determine the concentration and function of immune cells in peripheral blood
IRAS ID
169342
Contact name
David Roberts
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
National Health Service Blood and Transplant
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Recent studies in the clinic have shown that some cells from the immune system that circulate in low numbers in healthy people can improve survival following bone marrow transplantation. These cells are called regulatory T cells and can prevent harmful inflammatory responses.
Vitamin D may affect the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) within the graft of cells given to the patient in a bone marrow transplantation. Several clinical studies have shown that one month of supplementation with vitamin D can markedly increase Treg number in health and disease. Vitamin D therapy might therefore offer a relatively cost-effective and important donor-specific factor to improve clinical outcome.
The objective of this study is to measure the Tregs in relation to all T cells and to correlate this with levels of vitamin D (and other substances that may become relevant) in plasma. The information from this study will provide data to help set up clinical trials to improve Treg content within grafts and thus improve outcomes of bone marrow transplantation. It is possible to measure Treg: T cell ratios by antibodies and also by DNA based methods. We will use both methods.
Anyone who has agreed to donate platelets to the National Health Service Blood and Transplant will be invited to participate. There are no other inclusion or exclusion criteria anticipated at this time. The study is expected to last 3 years.
It would be an important step towards characterising the role of this nutrient on the down modulating component of stem cell grafts and improvement of clinical outcomes following bone marrow transplantation.
Summary of Results
Studies in the clinic show that some immune cells that circulate in low numbers in healthy people can improve survival following bone marrow transplantation or can prevent harmful inflammatory responses that cause disease. These cells are called regulatory T cells.
Vitamin D may affect the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) within the graft of cells given to the patient in a bone marrow transplantation. Several clinical studies have shown that one month of supplementation with vitamin D can markedly increase Treg number in health and disease. Vitamin D therapy might therefore offer a relatively cost-effective and important donor-specific factor to improve clinical outcome.
One objective was to measure Tregs in relation to all T cells and to correlate this with levels of vitamin D (and other substances that may become relevant) in plasma. The information from this study was published (Front Immunol 2020 May 19:11:685. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00685. eCollection 2020: The Migratory Properties and Numbers of T Regulatory Cell Subsets in Circulation Are Differentially Influenced by Season and Are Associated with Vitamin D Status). It is hoped that this baseline data will help in clinical settings where the Treg number and migratory properties of Tregs are important for treatment of immune mediated disorders.
We also isolated Tregs from a by-product of leukapheresis, called a leukocyte cone, containing white cells that are more concentrated than in blood. Detailed analysis showed how the regulation of gene expression in Tregs could affect how these cells function in people with diseases that affect the immune system. This work was published here: Cell Genom. 2022 Apr 13;2(4):None. doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2022.100117: Immune disease variants modulate gene expression in regulatory CD4+ T cells) and it may help to identify drugs to treat inflammatory immune disorders.REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
15/NS/0060
Date of REC Opinion
21 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion