Research Details

Institution:

Cardiff University

Recipient:

Professor Susan Wong

Project:

Development of regulatory B cell assay in type 1 diabetes

Summary:

White blood cells called B cells produce antibodies which are very important markers of the immune attack on insulin producing beta cells. Normally B cells protect against infection, but they also help turn off immune responses when no longer needed. We will study if the B cells that can dampen other immune responses (known as regulatory B cells) are defective in patients with diabetes. Our overall aim is to understand how B cells contribute to immune damage in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and whether alterations in B cell function can be used as markers to monitor disease. Individuals will be asked to provide blood samples. We will study whether the B cells that can dampen down immune responses (regulatory B cells) have abnormal function in people with diabetes, compared with control subjects. This research will be important for understanding why people develop T1DM. In addition, new immune therapies are in trial to protect beta cells and this research may give us a new tool to detect how well these treatments work, vitally important for improvement of design of treatments for T1DM over the next 5-10 years.

Amount:

£20,000.00