Dr Adrian P Mountford
Emeritus

Profile

Career

Research

Overview

• Innate immune responses induced by infective larvae of Schistosoma mansoni and how these drive the polarisation of the subsequent adaptive immune response and cause immunoregulation particularly following multiple infections
• Visualisation of schistosome/immune cell interaction in the skin and lymphoid tissues using multiphoton microscopy
• Identification of ligand-pattern recognition receptor interactions involved in the recognition of schistosome molecules by cells (e.g. dendritic cells) of the innate immune response
• Proteomic definition of Th2-inducing dendritic cells
• Immunomodulation induced by chronic schistosome infection; analysis of the role of putative Th regulatory cells in the intestinal mucosa

Discoveries

• Multiple infections with S. mansoni, causes the development of immune hypo-responsiveness in the murine host resulting from the development of alternatively activated APCs, and an influx of eosinophils
• Glycan moieties on the released molecules have an important role in stimulating cytokine production by innate immune cells which in turn is dependent upon MyD88 but only partly dependent upon TLR4.
• Proteomic profiling of pro-Th2 dendritic cells reveals them to have a ‘limited’ maturation phenotype.
• CD154 has an essential role in the development of Th1 immune responses and the generation of protective immunity induced by attenuated schistosomes
• IL-10 production by CD14+ mononuclear cells is defective in patients with acne.

Projects

• Innate Immune Responses and Immunoregulation in Schistosomiasis: Novel mechanisms in the control of infection and disease.  (EU INCO FP6 grant) Co-ordinator with 5 other partners in Ghana, Gabon, Senegal, Netherlands and Belgium.
• Immune hypo-responsiveness caused by helminth infection of the skin; regulation of dermal antigen presenting cells.  (Wellcome Trust)

Research group(s)

• Mountford research group 

Grants

• Wellcome Trust 

Immune hypo-responsiveness caused by helminth infection of the skin (20011-2013)

Available PhD research projects

For application requirements, process, and guidelines please see the postgraduate study pages of the Department of Biology website (http://www.york.ac.uk/biology/postgraduate/). New available studentships are announced on these web pages, the Departmental site and on FindAPhD.