Grant: Project Grant

In recent years, it has become clear that the beneficial non-pathogenic bacteria in our intestines, that together form our microbiota, have a strong influence on the immune system and therefore also have an effect on both health and disease. In particular, chronic inflammatory disorders such as autoimmune, allergic, and of course inflammatory bowel diseases have been associated with changes in the intestinal microbiota. This proposal studies an important immune cell subset (T helper cells) that is critically involved in controlling immune homeostasis but also inflammation during disease. These immune cells are found in high numbers in the intestine and are important in preventing inflammation in response to the normal microbiota. It is known that the function of these immune cells is shaped by the bacterial composition of the microbiota. However, it is known whether these immune cells recognize these beneficial bacteria in the same classical way like they recognize for example a virus following infection. The proposed project uses newly developed experimental tools to study this. Furthermore, this project will also study how, in return, different activated immune cells that recognize specific bacteria change the functional properties of these bacteria. Last but not least, we will also investigate how the microbiota modulates the production of antibodies that are specific for the bacteria within the microbiota. The main aim of the project is to better understand how the microbiota can modulate these immune responses. This is important to know for the development of novel approaches to treat chronic inflammatory disorders that make use of the capacity of the microbiota to modulate immune responses.