Department of Transplantation Immunology

Research topics

The transplantation of an organ or the transfer of stem cells often represents the only way to improve or even to rescue the life of a patient. However, immunological rejection represents a major obstacle to the further development of therapeutic transplantation. Therefore, deep knowledge of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the transplantation reaction is required. Using a model of immunological reaction to histocompatibility antigens, we have focused our research on studying the activation and function of regulatory T cells in transplantation immunity and tolerance. Using a model of orthotopic corneal and limbal transplantation, we have analyzed the details of ocular immunity. Since successful treatment of the severely damaged ocular surface requires the transfer of limbal stem cells, we recently started to isolate, grow and characterize stem cells. We succeeded in isolating limbal and mesenchymal stem cells in the mouse and using them for the repair of the damaged corneal epithelium. For the transfer of stem cells, we use various types of nanofibre scaffolds, which represent optimal 3D matrices for stem cell growth. Well-established methods for monitoring the immune response enabled us, in co-operation with other laboratories, to study the cytokine response in various experimental models of immunoregulation. The ultimate goal of our research is to acquire insights into the mechanisms of the specific immune response, to isolate and transplant stem cells and to propose novel strategies for targeted immunoregulation.
Recent experiments have also been focused on the targeted differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and their use for ocular surface reconstruction. This is one of our models for testing the possibilities of using stem cell transplantation in regenerative and reparative medicine.

Fig. 1: Experimental model of skin grafting in inbred strains of mice. Skin allografts in mice are protected by bandages for 10 days, then the survival of the grafts in immunomodulated recipients is monitored and evaluated.

Fig. 2: The scheme of the regulatory role of cytokines in the development of individual phenotypically and functionally distinct subpopulations of T lymphocytes.

Fig. 3: Flow cytometry analysis of the in vitro induction and development of regulatory T lymphocytes and proinflammatory Th17 cells. Spleen cells from BALB/c mice were cultured with irradiated cells from B6 mice in the absence or presence of the determining cytokines TGF-ß and IL-6, and the percentage of regulatory T cells (Foxp3+ cells) or Th17 cells (RORγt+ cells) was determined by FACS analysis.

Fig. 4: Expression of genes for immunologically relevant molecules in rejected corneal allografts and xenografts in an experimental mouse model. Corneal grafts were transplanted orthotopically, and the expression of genes for the tested molecules was detected in individual corneas by PCR. Lanes 1,2 – healthy cornea, 3,4 – corneal autografts, 5.6 – corneal allografts, 7,8 – corneal xenografts.

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