Utilising invariant natural killer T cell activation to promote the survival of cardiac allografts
Heart transplantation may be the only option available for some patients with irreversibly damaged and failing hearts. But the donor heart can be rejected by the person’s immune system. Although certain types of immune cells are responsible for rejection, there are other types of immune cell that may help transplanted hearts stay healthy. Dr Nicholas Jones has been awarded a grant to identify how best to activate cells, called NKT cells, that could prevent rejection by suppressing the immune system. He will use state-of-the-art cellular and molecular techniques to examine how NKT cells prevent other immune cells from damaging transplants and identify new molecules that could safely activate NKT cells in humans. This research could help heart transplants work longer without the debilitating side effects of immunosuppressive drugs that are currently used to prevent rejection. With this knowledge the scientists believe they will find new ways to prevent heart transplant rejection in the future.
Project details
| Grant amount | £275,718 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 06 January 2014 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/13/40/30297 |
| Status | Complete |
