Dr Jonathan Dodd

My research is focussed on design of novel, long-lived IL-2 delivery vectors that expand regulatory T cell (Treg) populations in vivo and inhibit Type 1 diabetes (T1D) development. T1D is an autoimmune disease in which insulin-producing β-cells located in pancreatic islets are selectively destroyed by the immune system, eventually resulting in β-cell loss, insulin deficiency and hyperglycaemia. T1D progression is associated with a temporal loss in the capacity of Tregs to expand & survive in β-islets, which in turn disrupts the regulatory T cell:effector T cell balance and unleashes anti-islet immune responses. IL-2 is critical for Treg generation and expansion, and in the non obese diabetic (NOD) mouse model of T1D, IL-2 administration increased Treg cell survival and decreased the incidence of T1D.