This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(October 2019) |
Established | 1956 |
---|---|
Research type | Basic (non-clinical), clinical and translational research |
Field of research | Immune system and autoimmune disease |
President | Jane H. Buckner, MD [1] |
Address | 1201 Ninth Avenue |
Location | Seattle, Washington |
Affiliations | Virginia Mason Health System [2] |
Website | www |
Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) is a Seattle, Washington, non-profit organization that conducts medical research on diseases and immune disorders, including autoimmune disease. It is affiliated with Virginia Mason Health System, and is located on the campus of Virginia Mason Medical Center. [2]
Much of BRI's research aims to understand how immune cells function and why they malfunction to cause disease. [3] [4] BRI researchers has studied on how immune cells contribute to rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases. [3] [4] BRI uses translational research and clinical trials. [4] [5]
BRI was founded in 1956 as the Virginia Mason Research Center. [6] [7] [8] In 1985, Gerald Nepom became BRI's director and established its immunology research program. [4] [9] [7]
In 1999, BRI moved into a new, 100,000 square-foot building at the corner of Seneca and 9th Avenue, in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood. [10] The building was named the Benaroya Research Institute in honor of donations from the Benaroya family. [11]
In the late 1990s, William Kwok and Nepom developed MHC class II tetramer technology that helps researchers find and study antigen-specific T cells. [12] These tetramers are customized (using different HLA combinations) for use to study how the immune system responds to diseases and pathogens, including influenza, human papillomavirus, allergies, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. [12]
In 2014, BRI was awarded a seven year, $27 million per-year grant to become headquarters of the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN), a clinical research consortium with more than 200 research sites around the world. [13] The ITN is directed by Nepom. [13] BRI's Carla Greenbaum is chair of Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet. [14] [15]
In 2016, Jane Buckner took over from Nepom and became BRI's president. [9] [16] Nepom remained at BRI as a researcher and faculty member. [9] [16]
In March 2019, Margaret McCormick, PhD, became BRI’s Executive Director after their previous director, Homer Lane, retired. [17]
In early August 2020, BRI and Seattle Children’s announced a licensing deal with biotech startup GentiBio. The partnership aims to use engineered regulatory T cells to treat autoimmune and allergic diseases. [18]
BRI studies immune cells and immunotherapies that reprogram those cells; these therapies could inform treatments and cures for type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. [4] [19] BRI's uses its biorepositories of blood and specimens from individuals with autoimmune diseases and other disorders, and from healthy individuals to conduct research. [20] BRI has eight biorepositories that contain samples dating back to the year 2000. [21]
In 2016, BRI received a five-year, $8 million NIH grant to lead a collaboration that studies how the immune system responds to allergens in the lungs and how those trigger asthma attacks. [22] The collaboration includes researchers from BRI, UW Medicine and the Seattle Children's Research Institute. [22] Later, Buckner and her colleagues received $1 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to investigate ways to change "attacker" cells into cells that stop disease. [23] In 2017, the Helmsley Trust awarded the researchers an additional $2 million to continue testing the edited cells in the lab. [24]
In 2017, BRI's Erik Wambre and his colleagues identified a type of cell, called Th2A, that appears to drive all allergies. [25] Th2A cells could also be used as biomarkers, or indicators to show whether a person has an allergy or is responding to therapy. [26] [25] In 2018, BRI's Emma L. Kuan and Steven F. Ziegler discovered that a protein called thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) helps breast cancer tumors survive and spread. They also showed that blocking this protein in laboratory models significantly inhibited the growth of breast cancer tumors. [27] [28]
In 2018, BRI researchers found that many infants sleep for longer when they start eating solid foods. In the study, half the babies subsisted entirely on breast milk until six months of age, while the other half started eating solid foods at three months of age. Compared to babies who were solely breast-fed, infants who ate solid food slept for two more hours per week and woke up two fewer times per night. The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics , and the study was led by Gideon Lack. [29] [30]
In 2018, BRI's Bernard Khor was awarded an NIH grant to investigate why nearly 50 percent of people with Down syndrome have autoimmune diseases. [31] In June 2019, BRI and Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet showed that an immunotherapy drug called teplizumab delayed T1D for a median of two years for those at high risk for the disease. [32] This is the first time scientists have been able to use a therapy to delay type 1 diabetes. [33] In May 2019, they received a grant from the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, JDRF, and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to study why some checkpoint inhibitor patients develop an autoimmune response that resembles type 1 diabetes. [34] In September 2019, BRI received a $4.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. [35]
In December 2019, BRI launched the Sound Life Project. [36] In March 2020, BRI launched a Gut Immunity program that is composed of three scientists: Adam Lacy-Hulbert, James Lord, and Oliver Harrison, who study different aspects of diseases that impact the gut. [37]
In July 2020, BRI announced that the National Institutes of Health had awarded them over $5.8 million to study COVID-19. [38] In late August 2020, BRI researchers discovered a new pathway that can help protect cells from viruses including COVID-19 and Ebola. [39] They found that one gene, CIITA, can help human cells resist the virus by activating another gene, CD74 p41 splice variants. When activated, the second gene stops the virus from infecting your cells. They used transposon-mediated gene activation to pinpoint which genes prevent infection. [40] In fall 2020, BRI became a testing site for the Pfizer vaccine Phase III trial. [41] About 100 people are participating in this two-year trial. BRI’s team collected data about whether the vaccine prevented COVID-19 infections [42] and side effects participants experienced and is continuing to monitor participants. [43]
BRI has received United States federal grants for research for a wide variety of research projects, including research on autoimmune diseases, [44] allergies [45] and asthma. [46]
In 2010, BRI became the main beneficiary of the annual Boeing Classic golf tournament. [47] The Boeing Classic has raised more than $6 million from 2005 to 2017 for BRI and other charities. [48]
In 2015, BRI ranked third in National Institutes of Health funding among Washington State research institutions. [49]
In 2016, BRI's annual budget was approximately $70 million. [50] Approximately 71 percent of BRI's 2016 research was supported by government research grants and contracts. The remaining revenues came from philanthropic donations, pharmaceutical studies, foundation grants and other sources.
In December 2020, Jessica Hamerman was awarded a $200,000 research grant from the Lupus Research Alliance. [51]
In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". Prominent examples include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, Henoch–Schönlein purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Addison's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and multiple sclerosis. Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids.
Immunosuppression is a reduction of the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immunosuppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions.
Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as activation immunotherapies, while immunotherapies that reduce or suppress are classified as suppression immunotherapies. Immunotherapy is under preliminary research for its potential to treat various forms of cancer.
Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affect the patient's immune system. Examples of these extrinsic factors include HIV infection and environmental factors, such as nutrition. Immunocompromisation may also be due to genetic diseases/flaws such as SCID.
Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4, (CTLA-4) also known as CD152, is a protein receptor that functions as an immune checkpoint and downregulates immune responses. CTLA-4 is constitutively expressed in regulatory T cells but only upregulated in conventional T cells after activation – a phenomenon which is particularly notable in cancers. It acts as an "off" switch when bound to CD80 or CD86 on the surface of antigen-presenting cells. It is encoded by the gene CTLA4 in humans.
Virginia Mason Medical Center is an integrated hospital, training and research facility located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It was the founding location, in 1920, of the private, non-profit Virginia Mason health organization; in January 2021, the Virginia Mason organization merged with CHI Franciscan to form Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, under the parent company CommonSpirit Health. After the merger, the Virginia Mason Medical Center continues under its original name.
Immunodysregulation polyendocrinopathy enteropathy X-linked syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease. It is one of the autoimmune polyendocrine syndromes. Most often, IPEX presents with autoimmune enteropathy, dermatitis (eczema), and autoimmune endocrinopathy, but other presentations exist.
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Immunogenetics or immungenetics is the branch of Medical Immunology and Medical Genetics that explores the relationship between the immune system and genetics.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to immunology:
La Jolla Institute for Immunology is a non-profit research organization located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. The institute was founded in 1988. It is located in UC San Diego’s Research Park. The institute researches immunology and immune system diseases. The institute employs 220 M.D.s and Ph.D.s, including 23 faculty members and more than 450 employees. Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire has served as its president and CEO since 2021.
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Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2020 impact factor of 6.968.
Nivolumab, sold under the brand name Opdivo, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes melanoma, lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, urothelial carcinoma, colon cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, liver cancer, gastric cancer, and esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer. It is administered intravenously.
Cancer Breakthroughs 2020, also known as Cancer Moonshot 2020 is a coalition with the goal of finding vaccine-based immunotherapies against cancer. By pooling the resources of multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology companies, academic centers and oncologists, it intends to create access to over 60 novel and approved agents under exploration in the war against cancer and is expected to enable rapid testing of novel immunotherapy combination protocols. The initiative is being managed by a consortium of companies called The National Immunotherapy Coalition.
The Allen Institute is a non-profit, bioscience research institute located in Seattle. It was founded by billionaire philanthropist Paul G. Allen in 2003. The Allen Institute conducts large-scale basic science research studying the brain, cells and immune system in effort to accelerate science and disease research. The organization practices open science, in that they make all their data and resources publicly available for researchers to access.
Jeffrey A. Bluestone is the A.W. and Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Metabolism and Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, and was, for a number of years, an earlier executive vice chancellor and provost of that university. He began the UCSF affiliation in 2000, after earlier extended positions at the NCI-NIH, and at The University of Chicago. Bluestone earned his undergraduate and masters degrees in microbiology from Rutgers State University, and his doctoral degree in immunology from Cornell Graduate School of Medical Science. His current research is focused on understanding T cell activation and immune tolerance in autoimmunity and organ transplantation. In April 2016, he co-founded and served as the president and CEO of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy,. In 2019, he co-founded and is Chief Executive Officer and President of Sonoma Biotherapeutics.
Nutritional immunology is a field of immunology that focuses on studying the influence of nutrition on the immune system and its protective functions. Indeed, every organism will under nutrient-poor conditions "fight" for the precious micronutrients and conceal them from invading pathogens. As such, bacteria, fungi, plants secrete for example iron chelators (siderophores) to acquire iron from their surrounding
Vijay K. Kuchroo is an Indian-American immunologist and serial entrepreneur. He is the Samuel L. Wasserstrom chair of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is also the director of the Evergrande Center for Immunologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
An inverse vaccine, or reverse vaccine, is a hypothetical approach to the use of vaccines that trains the immune system to not respond to certain substances. Under laboratory conditions, an inverse vaccine has been shown to combat autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease attacks the body's own cells and substances, an inverse vaccine must counteract this. The current method of combating the effects of an autoimmune disease is to suppress the entire immune system, which means that infections cannot be fought.