Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a very common blood cancer. Leukaemic tumour cells actively shut down key immune defences in patients who are very prone to severe infections. Current chemotherapies further immuno-compromise CLL patients and over a quarter will die from an infection despite having responded to cancer treatments. We propose that restoring key immune functions in CLL is key to improve resistance to infection and restore natural anti-cancer immunity.
Exploiting The Cross Talk Between Tuft Cells And Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells For Tissue Homeostasis And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$831,162.00
Summary
The project investigates the cellular cross talk within the gastric mucosa between tuft cells, a rare epithelial cell type, and tissue-resident group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2). The tuft cell/ILC2 axis is driven by the two cytokines interleukin (IL)-25 and IL-13 and is required for tissue homeostasis but turns pro-tumourigenic in the context of chronic inflammation. Our investigation will dissect the underlying mechanisms using a combination of mouse models, immunology and bioinformatics.