Research Group

  • Dr Anita Chong, Principal Investigator
  • Dr Emily Ahmed, Research Associate

Location

  • The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

Title

  • Bacterial Infections and Transplantation Tolerance

Infectious episodes can precipitate the rejection of established allografts in the clinic. In addition, skin, intestine and lung allografts are most resistant to conventional immunosuppression, while in mouse models, the skin, small bowel and lung are more resistant to the induction of transplantation tolerance than organs such as heart and pancreatic islets. We noted that the skin, intestine and lung harbor significant commensal bacterial loads that can stimulate immune responses. We have evidence that concurrent pathogenic bacterial infections can enhance the susceptibility of transplanted grafts to rejection, and prevent the development and maintenance of allograft tolerance. We propose to study how bacterial infections affect immune responses to transplanted allografts and prevent the development of tolerance. We anticipate that the information gained from these studies can lead to the development of new approaches for reducing the immunogenicity of transplanted organs, and for facilitating the induction and maintenance of allograft tolerance.

Progress Report
Final Report