Chidi Ireaja
Research Mentor: Yasmina Laouar
Mentor Department: Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine
Author(s): Chidi Ireaja, Yasmina Laouar, Xin Sun
Session: Session 3 (11:00 AM – 11:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 46
Abstract
Mice have been used in research for over a century; however, their immune responses do not closely correlate with those of humans due to differences in microbial exposure, as laboratory mice are housed in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) environments. Studies show that exposing mice to more complex pathogen environments results in immune systems that more closely resemble those of humans, helping to bridge this discrepancy. ?This field of research is new, with only a few cell subsets having been studied so far. The goal of this study is to fill in the gap and create a more fundamental characterization. This study analyzes thirteen organs (both lymphoid and nonlymphoid) and major lymphocytes and stem cell subsets across mice of different microbe exposure types to understand how microbial exposure will significantly affect the immune system of these mice. This research specifically focuses on the T cell compartment and analyzes the abundance/property changes of different T-cell subsets across different microbial conditions.
