Researchers at Imperial have been awarded \u00a31.1 million from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to investigate how a key gene, ERG, controls the function of the lymphatic system and shapes the body\u2019s immune response.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0research\u00a0\u2013 led by\u00a0Dr Graeme Birdsey from the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) in collaboration with Professor\u00a0Jacqui\u00a0Shields at the University of Nottingham \u2013 will reveal how defects in lymphatic endothelial cells affect immunity, with potential implications for conditions such as primary lymphoedema.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ERG is a transcription factor previously known for its role in\u00a0regulating gene expression within the endothelial cells that\u00a0line\u00a0blood vessels. Recent work from\u00a0Dr Birdsey\u2019s group has shown that it performs a similar regulatory function in lymphatic endothelial cells,\u00a0the cells lining the vessels that drain tissue fluid and transport immune cells to lymph nodes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr Graeme\u00a0Birdsey, Associate Professor in Vascular Science, said, \u201cThe lymphatic system is\u00a0vital\u00a0for immune surveillance\u00a0\u2013\u00a0the immune system uses the lymphatics to send white blood cells to the lymph nodes, where they then send out signals to respond to infection. We want to ask whether ERG plays a role in that process and what happens when it goes wrong,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s\u00a0previous\u00a0work, using data from the 100,000 Genomes Project, has already\u00a0identified\u00a0primary lymphoedema patients with rare variants in ERG, suggesting the gene\u2019s disruption may contribute to both impaired lymphatic function and susceptibility to infection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The new funding will allow the team to investigate how loss of ERG alters lymphatic structure, lymph node\u00a0organisation\u00a0and the trafficking of immune cells. They will use\u00a0advanced\u00a0experimental\u00a0models,\u00a0combined with\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0molecular and imaging\u00a0techniques, to map the pathways controlled by ERG and\u00a0identify\u00a0how\u00a0changes\u00a0in these pathways\u00a0could\u00a0weaken\u00a0immune\u00a0responses in diseases such as primary lymphoedema.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the\u00a0research may reveal new molecular targets for future\u00a0therapeutic\u00a0interventions\u00a0that strengthen immune function by restoring healthy lymphatic behaviour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the award,\u00a0Dr Birdsey said,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0overjoyed. This has been a long time coming, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0really proud\u00a0of the work my group has done to get us to this point. To receive this recognition, and to know that our research has real potential to\u00a0benefit\u00a0human health, means a great deal.\u00a0\u00a0Science\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0done by individuals, so\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0grateful to my collaborators and the MRC for supporting us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Researchers at Imperial have been awarded \u00a31.1 million from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to investigate how a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[18,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-283977","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115893830025017601","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}