The immune response is a complex and multi-faceted system that must adapt constantly to face the dangers the human body encounters on a daily basis. As powerful and necessary as the immune response is it is at times more of a curse than a blessing. Autoimmune diseases are caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body as part of an overzealous immune response, rather than defending it. At LIAI, the labs of both Michael Croft, Ph.D., and Yun-Cai Liu, Ph.D., are focusing on research related to controlling the autoimmune response.
Michael Croft, Ph.D., and his lab work primarily with T lymphocytes, white blood cells that are central in the body's immune response. They are examining how T cells communicate with the rest of the body and help to coordinate the immune system's response to an infectious agent. If Croft's lab can better understand how T cells can be controlled and prompted to alter the body's immune response, they may be able to use this knowledge to stop the body from attacking itself in the course of an autoimmune disease, as well as to develop more effective strategies for vaccination.
Croft's work has already shown great promise. After successfully blocking the OX40 protein, a molecule that controls T lymphocytes, his lab has been able to reduce inflammation in animal models of disease including asthma and diabetes. By examining this protein and other similar proteins related to T cell function, the lab's research can help fight a wide variety of autoimmune diseases such as IBD or arthritis and can even be used to boost immune responses to cancer and viruses.
The Liu lab has also been studying regulatory T cells and examining their function in relation to allergic asthma. A widespread condition that affects over 20 million in the U.S. alone, asthma causes a swelling of the airways that makes the act of breathing difficult to impossible. Liu's work has identified critical components necessary to generate T cells, which can be used to inhibit the allergic responses that trigger asthma attacks.
