Multi-centre Analysis Of Immune-regulatory Mechanisms That
Protect From Childhood Asthma In Distinct Rural Environments

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"This multi-center project aims to disentangle protective immune regulatory mechanisms for atopic asthma in childhood in environmentally distinct areas. The unique natural exposure to two environments strongly protecting from childhood asthma, i.e. farms in Europe and rural areas in China offers the great opportunity to assess the interplay of the innate and adaptive immune system, specifically dendritic cells and T regulatory cells, in four groups of well-characterized children from both Europe and China: i) Healthy non-exposed children, ii) Asthmatic non-exposed children, iii) Healthy exposed, and iv) Asthmatic exposed children. We will further assess an “ex vivo DC and Treg farming/rural signature” by exposing isolated blood cells of 6 year old children to environmental samples containing asthma-protective microbial factors from Europe and China. Herewith, we aim to disentangle whether both environments exert asthma-protection via identical or different immunological pathways. This project will not only provide a profound basis for future immunological studies on allergic asthma in all three countries through establishment and exchange of expertise and immunological techniques. It also represents an unparalleled chance to understand the immune mechanisms underlying the protection from asthma, which are critical for any future development of preventive strategies."

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​Project coordinator: Bianca Schaub (LMU)​

Subproject leaders: Gary Wong (CUHK), Chun Kwok Wong(CUHK), Bianca Schaub (LMU)

Event: 18 June 2017

"Drug-induced Liver Injury (DILI) is an important cause for acute liver failure and one of the most frequent causes for failures in drug development. In contrast to dose-dependent DILI (e.g. Acetaminophen-Overdose) idiosyncratic DILI (iDILI) is influenced by various host factors. Correct identification and causality assessment of iDILI is one of the most complex challenges in hepatology: In absence of a postive test, iDILI diagnosis as yet relies on exclusion of other etiologies and expert opinion as gold standard. In patients with polymedication the iDILI causing compound  may be impossible to identify.

In  collaboration CUHK and LMU evaluate a novel in vitro test developed at the LMU that is based on patient derived hepatocyte-like cells generated from peripheral blood monocytes (MH cells). By in vitro exposure and toxicity testing of the patient derived MH cells to the drugs implicated in the putative iDILI-episode, iDILI can be diagnosed or ruled out. Moreover, identification of the culprit agent is intended.

Aim of the collaboration is to evaluate the performance of the MH cell test in patients with different demographics and in parallel set-up a study cohort to directly compare iDILI in Europe and Asia, causative agents, patient characteristics and outcomes. The test is performed in the facilities of MetaHeps GmbH,near LMU campus  under an ISO certified Quality Management System. Additionally, there will be an investigation of functional charateristics of Chinese and European patient derived MH cells."

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​Collaborators: Henry Chan (CUHK), Alexander Gerbes (LMU)​