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Immune tolerogenic properties are acquired by antigen following some form of "gut processing" and this processing is, at least in part, mediated by selective transcytosis across the gut epithelium.

The project aims to define the mechanisms by which the epithelial barrier of the gut regulates the immune response to fed antigen and to exploit these mechanisms in immunogenic and tolerogenic oral vaccine design. It combines expertise in epithelial barrier biology, regulatory T cells, antigen processing and presentation, mucin biology and adjuvant design within MIVAC. Antigen processing is studied in transwell cultures with mouse epithelial cell lines. Combining advanced mass spectroscopy and tissue culturing is expected to reveal aspects regarding the structural processing of proteins. This technique is coupled with a detailed analysis of priming of effector or regulatory T cell functions and will answer important questions about why mucosal antigen processing normally results in immune tolerance.

Postdoc involved in the project: Dmitry Isakov.