Development of Cellular Therapies for Autoimmunity

Abstract

The immune system normally protects against invasion by pathogens such as harmful viruses and bacteria. In autoimmune diseases the same mechanisms that are used to protect us are erroneously targeted to our own tissues. We will discover how regulatory lymphocytes, are able to protect against autoimmune disease. Such regulatory lymphocytes are attractive therapeutic agents to prevent a variety of immune-mediated diseases, including autoimmune diseases, allergy and transplantation rejection.