Research Group

  • Dr Geetha Chalasani, Principal Investigator


  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA


  • How Antibodies from B Cells Lead to Rejection of Organ Transplants

Organ transplants are life-saving for several diseases that result in failure of vital organs such as heart, lungs, kidney and liver. The life and function of a transplanted organ is cut short by the immune response fighting the organ as a foreign body. The main cells of the immune system that are mounting a response to the transplanted organ are T cells and B cells. The medicines used to inhibit the immune response are not very effective against B cells and a specialized type of T cell, memory T cells. In this grant application, we will be testing how antibodies produced by B cells are helping T cells convert into the specialized memory T cells. We will be using mouse transplantation models and mice that contain B cells defective in antibody production. We will be testing if these mice lacking specific types of antibodies will accept transplanted hearts without rejection and if they will form memory T cells. We hope to identify which antibodies are harmful and how they are causing injury to the transplanted organ so that new therapies against B cells and memory T cells can be developed to prevent rejection. Our findings will be broadly applicable to immune system-mediated autoimmune diseases, and will help effectively fight against infections and tumors by harnessing the immune system.

Progress Report

Final Report