Following a robust peer and lay review process, we have awarded a £250,000 to Professor Paul Klenerman and his team at the University of Oxford. The project will look at how immune cells in the gut interact with each other, with and without the presence of gluten.

Based on previous investigations, the researchers believe that parenchymal cells (gut tissue cells) and immune cells work together as functional units within the gut to create the inflammatory response in coeliac disease. They plan to look at these functional units themselves and will look at where they sit as units within gut tissue and will look at how individual cells within the unit interact with each other. They will also investigate how these units interact with cells outside the unit when gluten is present.

The project will use immunohistochemical staining (IHCS) for cell imaging, single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA Sequencing) and spatial transcriptomics on samples from duodenal biopsies which have been taken from patients with coeliac disease. They will study biopsies from people with treated coeliac disease, active coeliac disease and refractory coeliac disease. The research aims to increase understanding of the pathology of coeliac disease and refractory coeliac disease.

• Immunohistochemical staining or IHCS – a method of staining certain cells from a tissue sample on a microscope slide. In this case, the sample would be an intestinal biopsy sample.
• Single cell RNA sequencing or scRNA sequencing – is a technique that analysis gene expression within individual cells.
• Spatial transcriptomics – is a relatively new technique in molecular biology which shows the expression of particular genes within a tissue and how they interact with one another where previously we had to look at gene expression in single isolated cells.

Project title: Understanding immune-parenchymal cell interactions in active and refractory coeliac disease through spatial analysis approaches. 
Principle investigator: Professor Paul Klenerman 
Institution: The University of Oxford  
Grant awarded: £250k  
Project start: October 2023  
Project duration: 3 years