A Dartmouth Medical School professor received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health to study the immune protection mechanisms of the female reproductive system.
Charles Wira, Ph.D., professor of physiology at the medical school and a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center staff, will lead a comprehensive investigation of the basic elements and functions of the mucosal immune system in the normal reproductive tract of women.
"To date, there has been little emphasis on study of the mucosal immune system and the way in which hormones produced during the menstrual cycle regulate mucosal immunity, which may serve as a first line of defense against bacterial and viral infections," Wira said.
Wira said his research may lead to discoveries that may help prevent the transmission of HIV from infected men to women, according to a DHMC press release.
"If we can find the answers to some of these questions, we will have the basic identification essential for preventing local infection in the genital mucosa, for the management of sexually transmitted diseases and possibly for preventing the transmission of HIV-1 from infected men to women," Wira said.
Wira's project is named "Mucosal Immunity in the Human Female Reproductive Tract."
The study will "attempt to characterize immune functions in the Fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix and vagina," according to the press release.
Wira will also attempt to define the roles of steroid hormones and cytokines in mucosal immune regulation, or how the immune cells in the reproductive tract provide protection from disease, the release stated.
The NIH grant will be spread over five years. Wira will receive approximately $500,000 per year to fund his research.
The project will involve 15 researchers from various departments of DHMC, including physiology, microbiology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and pathology.
