LOTUS - Liver Immunology Tissue-resident cells

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Project Description

Natural Killer cells (NK cells) represent an innate immune subset highly enriched within the human liver. Tissue-resident NK cells within mouse models have been described to have a unique phenotype and distinct functional activity compared to NK cells from the peripheral blood, and some of the identified markers have also been described to be expressed on human tissue-resident NK cells. Yet, the factors that define tissue-resident NK cells within humans are insufficiently understood. The aim of this project is to functionally evaluate factors involved in tissue-residency of primary human NK cells. We will use a 3D microfluidic model to study the tissue-retention and extravasation of NK cells isolated from the peripheral blood as well as human liver tissue in more detail. Primary human endothelial cells will be seeded within the microfluidic chip to create an endothelial barrier and fluorescently labeled NK cells will be introduced within this barrier. Imaging will allow us to assess the amount of transmigration, adhesion and retention across different primary human NK cell subsets isolated from peripheral blood and liver tissue.