The Immunobiology Research Program facilitates CIBMTR Immunobiology Working Committee studies that use samples from the Research Sample Repository (cell and serum samples collected by NMDP/Be The Match from related and unrelated transplant donors, cord blood units, and recipients). The Immunobiology Working Committee seeks proposals for studies that are highly translational and hypothesis-driven. Such studies usually seek to define the clinical importance of the immune system using HCT and other cellular therapies as the model system.
Key Activities
Observational Studies
Immunobiology-focused research is conducted utilizing samples from the NMDP/Be The Match Research Sample Repository and derived and associated data. Many collaborative studies are facilitated through the Immunobiology Working Committee.
NMDP/Be The Match Research Activities
The Donor / Recipient Pair Project is a retrospective typing project to characterize class I (HLA-A, B, and C) and class II (HLA-DRB, DQB1, and DPB1) alleles and KIR genotypes of stored HCT / cellular therapy donor / recipient paired samples from the NMDP/Be The Match Research Sample Repository. To date, more than 32,000 paired samples have been characterized for HLA (~80% include DPB1) and more than 18,000 for KIR. The resultant data are stored in an NMDP/Be The Match-developed database and available to any researcher with a CIBMTR-approved study that wishes to analyze the impact of HLA matching or KIR genotype as either the focus of, or as a variable in, a research study. Allele-level data are also used to assess genetic diversity within the NMDP/Be The Match transplant population and have focused on the evaluation of HLA haplotypes within the donor and recipient data set.