Project 09

Winfried Pickl, Institute of Immunology, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna.

Project 09: Modulation and control of allergen-specific T-cell responses in humanized allergy-mice

Winfried Pickl has been trained at the Institute of Immunology and at Harvard Medical School. He and his group are interested in the antigen-specific interaction between professional antigen presenting cells and T cells and to target this interaction for therapeutic and prophylactic intervention. Using double-transgenic mouse models expressing human allergen-specific T cell receptors and MHC as well as technologies for producing allergen-specific Tregs he wants to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies for allergy in this SFB. Pickl is interested in the precise mechanisms by which allergen-specific T-cells contribute to allergies elicited by human-relevant respiratory allergens in vivo, with a special focus on the role of allergen-specific regulatory T-cells modulating/suppressing the disease. Within his project he proposes to study the role of allergen-specific (engineered and/or drug-induced) Treg in TCR tg allergy-mice in vivo. Moreover, he plans to determine the disease-modifying and preventive potential of VLP-based allergy vaccines in vivo and he wants to study the immune responses to Art v 1, Bet v 1 and various derivatives engineered for prophylactic applications thereof in vivo. For the detailed analysis of birch pollen allergy in vivo, human Bet v 1-specific TCR/HLA double tg mice will be engineered. In summary, by applying both humanized Art v 1- and Bet v 1-specific allergy-mice as a novel tool, he aims at assessing the therapeutic and prophylactic modulation and control of allergen-specific T-cell (and B-cell) responses in vivo. Humanized allergy models thereby offer the unique possibility of moving directly to tests of the equivalent human reagents and to analyze the relevant T-cell dependent (and independent) pathways by which allergic diseases can be influenced in vivo.

 

Pickl JBao. Univ.Prof. Dr. Winfried F. PICKL
Institut für Immunologie
Medizinische Universität Wien
Lazarettgasse 19 
1090 Wien, Österreich
T: +43 1 40160 33245
F: +43 1 40160 933201
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