Investigation of Immune Disorders and Deficiencies

Overview

The immune system is an intricate system comprised of specialized cells, proteins, tissues and organs. Proper functioning is critical to the body's ability to defend itself against harmful pathogens. Immunological disorders and deficiencies are defects in the immune system that lead to abnormal immune responses. Abnormal immune responses could be derived from immune deficiencies, dysregulations or hypersensitivities. The overall goal of this research study is to identify the mechanisms of primary immune deficiencies and immune disorders at the genetic, cellular and molecular level, using novel analytic techniques to be performed on immune cells derived from blood samples. The knowledge gained from the aims of this study could lead to better diagnostics and identify novel targets for therapeutic interventions.

Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID) represent a class of disorders in which there is an instrinsic defect in the human immune system. The PID could be caused by defects or perturbations in either the innate or adaptive immune cells, such as B cell defects which result in lack of antibodies. Research in this topic remains a difficult feat due factors such as genetic heterogeneity and the gene-environment interface. Limitations of standard of care testing leads to many patients with immunological problems to be undiagnosed. In addition to the variety of primary immune deficiencies, there are large number of immune system disorders due to various perturbations in the immunological components that cause diseases with much greater prevalence such as autoimmune diseases, lymphoproliferative diseases, chronic inflammation and certain cancers. The causes of these immune disorders are typically more complex than PID but there are also many overlaps in immune hyper-activation and deficiency.

Conditions