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The pivotal role of telomerase in CD4+ T Cell differentiation and senescence

Reference	C15044
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Arne Akbar
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Michael Salmon
Institution	University College London
Department	Department of Clinical Immunology
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	332,676
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/10/2001
End date	31/03/2005
Duration	42 months

Abstract

Elderly individuals are susceptible to infection, suggesting that the immune system is working less efficiently. This may be due to alterations in cytokine secretion by CD4+ helper T cells and also to their reduced proliferative capacity or replicative senescence, associated with telomere shortening. Our preliminary results show that IL-12 may prevent the functional differentiation of CD4+ T towards IL-4 secretion and also prevent the development of replicative senescence in these cells, both of which may be beneficial for elderly subjects. We will therefore investigate the relationship between differentiation and telomere shortening in CD4+ T cells to determine if both can be manipulated in old individuals by IL-12 and related cytokines.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Biochemistry & Cell Biology (BCB)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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