Benjamin Kopp, MD, MPH

Co-Director, C3 Immune Core

Amal Amer, MD, PhD

Co-Director, C3 Immune Core

Persons with CF are prone to chronic infections and hyperinflammatory responses, which are associated with progressive tissue damage. It is now recognized that chronic infection and inflammation results from intrinsically dysfunctional immune cells. Therefore, the overarching goals of the Immune Core are to provide a unified source of fresh immune cells to investigators, deliver reproducible data, and enable training of students and fellows in CF immune cell functions. The Immune Core services support projects and C3 members who seek to understand complex CF host-pathogen interactions and inflammation and thereby develop novel therapeutic strategies that prevent the establishment of chronic infections and tissue destruction.

Request Specimens

Facilitates Research Through:

1. Isolation and analysis of fresh blood immune cells (neutrophils, lymphocytes, peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages), fresh bronchoalveolar lavage-derived immune cells, and fresh sputum-derived immune cells;
2. Critical assays of immune function including comprehensive cell counts, cytokine/chemokine production, and Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSpot (ELISpot) assays from immune cells at baseline and in response to infections or treatments;
3. Functional analysis including halide efflux and patch-clamp electrophysiology for CFTR and other ion channels within immune cells; and
4. ​Access and assistance with interpretation of state of the art ‘omics assays (single-cell RNA-Seq, mi-RNA-Seq, Methyl-Seq, CyTOF, metabolomics, proteomics) in immune cells.

Resources:

Kopp Lab
​Nationwide Children's Flow Cytometry Core