Grant: Project Grant

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are often found in places in the body (mucosal tissues) that contact the outside world like the lung and intestine (gut). ILCs come in at least 5 varieties, each with a different role to play in maintaining healthy mucosal tissues. They are also 'first-responders' in the case of infection or tissue injury because they can rapidly turn on and recruit other types of immune cells. The origin of ILCs during development and throughout life is poorly understood because there are many different possible mechanisms that could explain how an ILC type becomes seeded at a mucosal tissue site and how that can change during healthy life (homeostasis) or in response to infection and injury (a common occurrence for mucosal tissues). We have developed unique transgenic mouse strains that will allow us to genetically label and track ILCs throughout their life and delete key ILC genes in to study how those genes alter ILC functions. Our research is dedicated to understanding how ILCs populate mucosal tissues during development, how they know what type of responses are appropriate and how they are replaced throughout life. In addition, we wish to determine if ILCs can move to a different tissue when needed (trafficking) or if one type of ILC can turn into a different type of ILC (plasticity). A better understanding of how ILCs seed mucosal tissues and how their numbers and functions are regulated during disease will allow us to develop better treatments for common human diseases.