Departments

Mission

The mission of the Immunology Department is the development of a research environment in which a broad range of interdisciplinary work is carried out to cope with the new era of Immunology, stem cell biology, Bioinformatics, and Biobanking.

In particular, the Department targets the diagnosis and management of endemic, liver, Gastrointestinal, urological, and pandemic diseases.

Vision

In the near future, plans for the Department include:

• Immunodiagnosis of endemic diseases and their consecutive complications by the development of immunodiagnostic kits with high quality. We produce our monoclonal antibodies against various endemic infections and employ them in different diagnostic techniques such as sandwich ELISA, nanoparticle-modified sandwich ELISA, and gold nanoparticle immunostrip assay.
• Tissue engineering and stem cell research.
• Production of cell lines and their implementation in the assessment of cytotoxicity of different anticancer compounds.
• Investment of molecular biology techniques in the genetic and epigenetic fields for diagnosis, monitoring, and therapeutic approaches.
• Immunochemistry and its central role in the characterization and purification of our diagnostic reagents (monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies).
• Utilization of nanotechnology in diagnosis and therapy.
• Establishment of a Biobank for samples of Egyptian patients having liver diseases.
• Bioinformatics: A field that develops methods and software tools and combines Biology, Computer Science, Information Engineering, Mathematics, and Statistics to analyze and interpret biological data.
• Capacity building by offering training courses for Egyptian and African researchers interested in our developed techniques: MAb production, Stem cell culture, and all aforementioned techniques.

Research Fields

The strategy of the Immunology Department constitutes an integrated part of the general strategy of TBRI, targeting immunodiagnosis of endemic diseases (viral and parasitic), assessment of immune response to endemic infections and their associated morbidity changes, and tackling immunological approaches for the management of endemic diseases and their hepatic and urinary complications with special stress on the following targets:

Immunodiagnosis of endemic diseases and their consecutive complications:

1. Immunodiagnosis of parasitic infections:

• The detection of specific circulating anti-parasitic IgG4 improved sensitivity and specificity of immunodiagnosis of schistosomiasis, fascioliasis¹ and filariasis, and can be used as screening test in endemic areas.
• The use of affinity purified fractions of parasitic antigens e.g. a Con-A purified hydatid glycoprotein fraction, and affinity purified Fasciolaworm antigen fraction, improved immunodiagnosis of human hydatidosis and fascioliasis.
• Production of MAbs against parasitic Antigens:

–  S. mansoni soluble egg Ag

–  S. haematobium soluble egg Ag

–  S. mansoni worm tegument Ag

–  F. gigantica crude worm Ag

–  F. gigantica ex/sec Ag

–  W. bancrofti worm extract

• Establishment of antigen detection immunoassays (sandwich ELISA, dot ELISA and latex agglutination test) using our MAbs as diagnostic probes for circulating parasitic antigens in patients’ sera and/ or excreta (urine or stool). 
• Development of antigen detection kit for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis and monitoring of cure on pre-commercial level. 

1. Immunodiagnosis of hepatitis viruses.
2. Tissue typing:

The feasibility of using the following immunomolecular markers and biomarkers as predictive or prognostic markers for HCC:

1. Evaluation of the efficacy of medicinal herbs or drugs on malignant cell lines.

Predication of malignant transformation:

1. Assessment of Genetic, epigenetic, and protein markers for early diagnosis and prognosis of patients having liver, GIT, and urological malignancies.
2. Genotyping of patients to predict those who might develop health disorders.

Immunotherapy:

1. Establishment of tissue engineering unit for stem cell culture and   engraftment into animal models and patients as a new line for management of liver cell failure.
2. Myoblast cell culture as a preliminary step for their engraftment in bladder cervix sphincter as a replacement therapy for urine incontinence.
3. Establishment of a cord blood stem cell bank as a source of allogenic stem cells for treatment of complications of endemic diseases.
4. Establishment of a defined protocol for in vitro trans-differentiation of cord blood (CB) unrestricted somatic stem cells (USSCs) into hepatocyte-like cells.
5. Induction of hepatic regeneration in an experimental model using the hepatocyte–like cells differentiated from in vitro cultured CB USSCs.
6. Establishment of the use of CB-USSCs as a future candidate for cellular therapy of hepatic failure on experimental level. 
7. Gene therapy.

• Establishment of a biobank for samples of Egyptian patients having liver diseases.
• Vaccination

Structure

Laboratory Structure and Facilities

The Immunology Department consists of a Central Immunology Research Laboratory and a “Tissue Culture Unit”.

The Central Immunology Research Laboratory consists of the following units:

–  Immunodiagnostics laboratory (ELISA, immunofluorescent technique, agglutination tests, etc.).

–  Immunochemistry laboratory (electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, immunoblotting, Isoelectric focusing, PCR, affinity and ion-exchange chromatography, etc.).

–   The Tissue Culture Unit includes:

        A preparatory laboratory.

        Tissue engineering units.

        GMP unit for stem cells.

        Monoclonal production unit.

–         Molecular unit includes:

• High speed cooling centrifuge.
• Thermal cycler.
• Real-time PCR.

List of the most important equipment:

–      Laminar flow cabinets.

–      CO2 incubators.

–      Liquid nitrogen containers and controlled rate freezing apparatus.

–      Microscopes (inverted and fluorescent).

–      DNA and protein electrophoresis and electroelution systems.

–      Transblot cell. 

–      PCR apparatus.

–      UV trans-illuminator and UV camera.

–      ELISA reader.

–      Autoclave, ovens, incubators, shaking incubators and water baths.

–      Vertical and horizontal deep freezers (-20 degrees Celsius and -40 degrees Celsius).

–      Centrifuges (cooling and high speed centrifuge).

–      Bi-distillator.

–      Digital balances.

–      Electric tissue homogenizer, sonicator and lyophilizer.

–      Two computers are available for research work at the Immunology Department.

Techniques

1)  Immunodiagnostics laboratory 

• Diagnosis of Parasitic Infection (ELISA):
• Detection of circulating anti-schistosome antibodies.
• Detection of circulating schistosome antigen.
• Detection of circulating anti-Fasciola hepaticaantibodies.
• Detection of circulating anti-E. granulosusantibodies.
• Detection of Autoantibodies: 
• Anti-nuclear antibodies.
• Autimmune Abs in autoimmune liver diseases.
• Detection of Hepatitis Markers.
• Detection of HB surface antigen.
• Detection of circulating anti-HCV antibodies.
• Detection of HIV Abs.
• Enzyme-linked immune-electrophoresis transfers blot (EITB).
• SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS- PAGE).
• Immunodiffusion.
• Immunofluorescence.

2)  Tissue engineering units:

• Isolation of different types of stem cells (MSCs & USSCs) from bone marrow and cord blood. 
• Stem cells characterization by flowcytometry, and gene expression analysis by real-time PCR.
• Induction of differentiation of stem cells into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages.
• Experimental treatment of hepatic fibrosis (induced by CCl4 and Schistosoma infection) by stem cells. 

3)  Monoclonal antibody production unit:

• Tissue culture techniques:
• Basics of tissue culture.
• Monoclonal antibody production by hybridoma technology against different parasitic antigens (Schistosoma mansoni, Schistosoma haematobium, Fasciola, Filaria, and Hydatid). 
• Characterization of monoclonal antibody:
•  Isotype characterization.
•   SDS and Immunoblotting.
•   Polyclonal antibody production in rats.
•  Mononuclear cell separation. 

Purification:

•    Ammonium sulfate.
•   Boric acid.
•   Conjugation of MAb by HRP.
•  Development of immunodiagnostic kits (ELISA) for endemic diseases using our own monoclonal antibodies. 

4)  Molecular Biology unit:

• Basics of molecular biology.
•   RNA, DNA and microRNA extraction.
• DNA hypo/ hyper-methylation.
•    Gene expression analysis by real-time PCR.
•  Detection of epigenetics markers using real-time PCR.

 

Services

Training

Fields of training:

–  Monoclonal antibody production.

–  Molecular immunology.

– Tissue culture.

– Stem cells.

– Epigenetic field.

-Serodiagnostic techniques (ELISA, Immunoblotting).

The Immunology Department at Theodor Bilharz Research Institute is considered one of the Centers of Excellency for the production of monoclonal antibodies and their application in immunoassays for early diagnosis of active parasitic infection and monitoring of cure.

The research team at the Immunology Department, TBRI, is highly qualified and has vast experience and skills in the field of immunodiagnosis, characterization, and purification of proteins, cell cloning, production, characterization, and applications of monoclonal antibodies in immunoassays. Several international projects with relevant technologies have been carried out at the Immunology Department during the last few years.

Publications

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• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
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Projects

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with

• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,
• Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s,