Immune Tolerance In Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Following Transplant Of Bone Marrow Cells Genetically Encoding Autoantigen
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$339,143.00
Summary
Autoimmune diseases affect 5-6% of the population and include diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Our studies focus on examining a gene therapy approach together with bone marrow transplantation to treating autoimmune diseases. Using a model for multiple sclerosis we are finding promising results
In autoimmune diseases the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. Although we know that both genetic and environmental factors contribute to the risk of disease, identifying these genes and the environmental factors involved is very difficult. Furthermore, we have almost no idea how these factors interact with each other, something we need to understand in order to predict the risk of disease and reliably identify possible therapies. These are the aims of this fellowship.