# Immunobiology Core

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2020 · $299,518

## Abstract

GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED PIG ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION IN BABOONS:
IMMUNOLOGICAL AND FUNCTIONAL STUDIES
CORE B: IMMUNOBIOLOGY CORE (Core Lead: Hidetaka Hara MD, PhD)
SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The Immunobiology Core (Core B), which has many advanced tools, will provide a
service to all 3 Projects (kidney, liver, heart) by carrying out all of the immunoassays required in
each study. Core B will standardize all of the assays that will be carried out between the two
centers (UAB and UMB). In this way, the results of studies in the kidney, liver, and heart models
can be compared in the absence of any difference in the methods used.
 The Core will monitor the immune status of the transplant recipients and will attempt to
determine the mechanisms of acceptance or rejection of the xenografts. Core B will apply many
tools of molecular and cellular immunological assays to investigate both the innate and adaptive
immune responses to the genetically-engineered pig grafts. Specifically, we will assess the
contributions of the genetic engineering of the organ-source pigs and the exogenous
immunosuppressive therapy to overcome the immune barriers to a xenograft, with the aim of
providing insight into the mechanisms of xenograft acceptance or rejection.
 Core B will coordinate its findings relating to the immune status of the recipients of the
xenografts with those relating to the histopathology of the grafts provided by Core C. We
hypothesize that the investigation of the systemic immune response, and of the local features
(in the graft) associated with that immune response, will help determine the mechanism of
xenograft injury and of local immune regulation (e.g., peripheral tolerance).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10019096
- **Project number:** 2U19AI090959-12
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Hidetaka Hara
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $299,518
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2010-08-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10019096

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10019096, Immunobiology Core (2U19AI090959-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10019096. Licensed CC0.

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