The public defence will be held as a video conference over Zoom.
The defence will follow regular procedure as far as possible, hence it will be open to the public and the audience can ask ex auditorio questions when invited to do so.
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Digital Trial Lecture – time and place
Adjudication committee
- First opponent: Principal Investigator Calum Bain, Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Edinburgh, UK
- Second opponent: Professor Andrew MacDonald, Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research, University of Manchester, UK
- Third member and chair of the evaluation committee: Professor Marit Inngjerdingen, University of Oslo
Chair of the Defence
Associate Professor Victor Greiff, University of Oslo
Principal Supervisor
Professor Frode Lars Jahnsen, University of Oslo
Summary
Mononuclear phagocytes are immune cells that reside in the tissues, where they initiate immune responses and regulate tissue homeostasis, but can also drive pathology if they are dysregulated. This thesis focuses on the functions and phenotypes of mononuclear phagocytes in the human intestine, and in particular the distinction between macrophages, dendritic cells, and monocytes. In the first paper, we have comprehensively assessed the CD14+ macrophage compartment in human small intestine, examining phenotypical, morphological, functional and transcriptional heterogeneity of the different macrophage subsets. We have shown that bone marrow-derived precursors gradually replace resident macrophages and that monocytes can differentiate into two distinct macrophage phenotypes localized in different tissue sites. During this differentiation monocytes lose their proinflammatory potential and become hyporesponsive to stimulation, a characteristic typical of mature intestinal macrophages. In the second paper, we have shown that monocytes can differentiate into cells phenotypically resembling CD14- dendritic cells in the human small intestine. However, despite the phenotypic similarity to dendritic cells, these CD14- monocyte-related cells are functionally and transcriptionally related to CD14+ macrophages. Finally, in the third paper, by means of single cell RNA sequencing of immune cells sorted from duodenal biopsies from celiac disease patients and controls, we have examined the changes occurring in the immune cell landscape, including mononuclear phagocytes, in the human small intestine during inflammation in patients with untreated disease.
Additional information
Contact the research support staff.