Dissecting microbial subcellular structures as targets for specific Treg-based therapies (B07)

• Subject Area: Immunology ; Gastroenterology ; Rheumatology
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 375876048

CD4 T cells maintain intestinal homeostasis and contribute to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Our preliminary work identified microbiota-reactive Tregs and protocols for their expansion. We also showed that a single microbe could induce distinct types of T cells directed against different antigens. We will analyze how different microbial subcellular structures can induce different types of T cell responses in health and disease. Based on these results we pursue our work on in vitro generation of optimized microbiota antigen-specific Tregs for efficient therapy of IBD.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 241: Immune-Epithelial Communication in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Petra Bacher, since 7/2022; Professor Dr. Alexander Scheffold