T cell skewing in relation to intestinal dysbiosis and GvHD in allogeneic stem cell transplantation (P04)

• Subject Area: Hematology, Oncology ; Immunology ; Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens ; Rheumatology
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 395357507

The key hypothesis of this project is that microbiota dysbiosis skews the reconstitution of a regulatory immune response in the gut and both contribute to development of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. This connection provides the rationale for reverting dysbiosis and the loss of regulatory T cells as a potent treatment of GvHD. We aim to identify changes in microbiota signatures in both, stool and mucosa, mucosal lymphocyte populations, T cell receptor repertoire composition and target antigens of clonally expanding T cells associated with clinical outcome, taking advantage of a unique collection of gut biopsies longitudinally collected over the course of GvHD onset and development, including patients with and without antibiotic therapy (ABX) as well as before and after fecal transplantation (FMT).

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1371: Microbiome Signatures -- Functional Relevance in the Digestive Tract
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Dirk Busch; Professor Dr. Ernst Holler, until 12/2022; Dr. Elisabeth Meedt