Cellular and Molecular Immunology Research Centre


In the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, four members of the Faculty of Life Sciences (FoLS), Prof Jameel Inal, Dr Christine Nunn, Dr Cherelyn Vella and Dr Nick Chatterton contributed to the submission to Unit of Assessment 12 ‘Allied Health Profession and Studies’ (together with five members of the Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) and one other faculty member). Overall, in assessing the research quality of the ten-member joint submission from the FoLS and IHRP, in terms of research output 7% was judged to be world leading, 32% internationally excellent and 41% internationally recognised; as a result of this exercise JI, CN, CV and NC formed the core of CMIRC and were joined by two other immunologists from FoLS (with interests in cancer vaccines and HIV) and a geneticist.

The CMIRC was established in January 2009 by JI, with initial funding from the Royal Society and NHS. Together with external collaborators/associate members, researchers with backgrounds in Immunology, Infectious disease (virology/parasitology) Cell Biology, Structural Biology and Molecular Biology and Genetics, now aim to focus their combined research efforts, in the areas described below, as highlighted earlier (Inal, J.M. (2011) Molecular Biology and Immunology. PS Public Service Review European Science and Technology Issue 13, 200-201 http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?eid=b617f8a8-9d34-4a6c-a2bc-c3cd4e095d8f&pnum=200) to help further our understanding of the immunology of infection and cancer progression and to apply this knowledge for possible future therapies.




	Some members of CMIRC at the end of a lab meeting (from left): Ingrid Evans-Osses, Marcel Ramirez, Ephraim Ansa-Addo, Dan Stratton, Paras Pathak, Sharad Kholia, Jameel Inal.

The Centre has two main interests:

1. Plasma Membrane-derived Vesicles (PMVs) and exosomes released from cells, with the following applications:

(i) role of PMVs in cell-cell communication, applied to haematopoietic cell differentiation in leukaemia and tumour progression and metastasis.

(ii) role of PMVs (&/or exosomes) in host-pathogen (parasite, bacteria and viral) interaction and manipulation thereof to inhibit infection.

(iii) Genetics of PMV release.

2. Regulation of the complement system, with two major applications:

(i) how infectious agents (intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi and extracellular parasite Giardia intestinalis) attempt to overcome this branch of immune defence, in particular the lectin pathway of complement activation, to establish infection.

(ii) how to therapeutically inhibit complement in autoimmune disease (where complement is misdirected against self). Our main tool at the moment is the complement-inhibiting synthetic peptide CRIT-H17, whose structure we have modelled.