Inhibition Of Alloreactivity By Modulation Of Antigen Presenting Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$504,097.00
Summary
Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the most effect treatment for a number of conditions, especially leukemia. Graft versus host disease (GVHD) is a complication of BMT and results in the death of up to 50% of transplant recipients. GVHD occurs when the newly transplanted immune system recognizes the recipient as foreign and mounts and immune reponse against the patients tissues. These studies will focus on identifying and understanding the function of the immune cells which drive GVHD.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the industrialized world. While therapies to treat cancer have continued to improve one area that, in theory at least, shows great promise in the treatment of tumours is manipulating the immune system to effectively recognize and destroy cancerous lesions. Experiments in human and animal systems have clearly shown that the immune system has the potential to respond to tumour cells and trials of tumour vaccines are underway. It has recently become a ....Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the industrialized world. While therapies to treat cancer have continued to improve one area that, in theory at least, shows great promise in the treatment of tumours is manipulating the immune system to effectively recognize and destroy cancerous lesions. Experiments in human and animal systems have clearly shown that the immune system has the potential to respond to tumour cells and trials of tumour vaccines are underway. It has recently become apparent that the immune responses to tumours may be inhibited by classes of regulatory immune cells. Eliminating these cells results in a more vigorous and effective anti-tumour response. This project will seek to discover the mechanisms of action of theses regulatory immune cells in order to devise more effective anti-cancer vaccines and therapies.Read moreRead less