SYSCID behind the scenes - Visiting Cambridge

Recruitment is ongoing…

Since the SYSCID kick-off meeting in Kiel this spring, the recruitment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been on the agenda in Cambridge. Currently, samples from 25 IBD patients and 27 healthy controls have been generated. Using these samples, the researchers will focus their attention on T cell exhaustion and its role in determining the outcome of autoimmune disease.  T cells, a type of white blood cell, form part of the immune system and help protect the body from infection. As a consequence of exhaustion, T cells progressively lose their ability to function, a state which occurs during many chronic infections. The SYSCID consortium hopes, that investigating possibilities to manipulate this process will lead to new therapeutic opportunities for a number of immune-mediated diseases. 

As an example of how valuable material will be shared within the SYSCID consortium, samples generated in Cambridge will also be shipped to other partners and will act as reference material for their studies.