Holding the front line - maintaining barrier integrity in the mouth

关键字：口腔、粘膜、免疫、宿主微生物口腔中的牙龈（牙龈）经常暴露于食物、细菌和咀嚼造成的损伤中。免疫系统必须保持牙龈健康——尽管有细菌和咀嚼造成的损伤。当这个保护系统失效时，屏障就不再起作用，这就会导致牙齿和全身健康状况不佳。与肠道等其他屏障部位相比，人们对保持牙龈健康的机制知之甚少。了解免疫系统如何维持健康的牙龈将提供新的理解如何维持口腔健康，以及如何有效地维持口腔健康也可以预防影响一般健康的其他疾病。格拉斯哥的研究小组已经建立了一个系统，在实验室中培养生活在口腔中的细菌，这些实验室培养的细菌模仿了口腔中的细菌群落。细菌可以与牙龈组织一起放置，以确定不同的细菌如何影响牙龈。这个项目旨在找出免疫系统是如何在牙龈中工作的，以及细菌是如何与免疫系统一起工作以保持口腔健康的。这项工作与BBSRC的几个关键优先事项一致。这些研究将改变我们对微生物组对宿主免疫系统影响的理解。在卫生保健机构提供的所有抗生素处方中，至少有10%用于治疗牙齿问题。更好地了解如何保持口腔健康有助于预防牙齿疾病，因此从长远来看，减少对抗生素的依赖。了解细菌和免疫反应之间的相互作用可能会强调抗生素的替代品可以恢复健康。因此，该项目可以帮助开发牙齿健康抗菌剂的替代品。该项目将开发一个模型系统，提供对维持健康至关重要的生理过程的见解，从而为整个生命过程中的健康老龄化提供信息。这项工作将涉及仔细验证体外模型系统，这将进一步减少在研究中使用动物的绝对数量。从事该项目的学生将接受一系列实验室方法的广泛培训，特别是与免疫系统的细菌和细胞有关的工作。该学生将参与各种尖端的数据收集和数据分析方法，并将在一个充满热情和高度积极性的博士生和博士后研究人员的团队中工作。除了项目特有的技能外，还有对科学家必不可少的各种技能的培训，包括演讲、写作、沟通、伦理、监管事务和数据管理等。学生将与我们的行业合作伙伴合作，在技术转让、产品开发和市场营销方面获得非常宝贵的经验。该小组以前的学生已经在学术界，工业界，教育界和通讯界取得了成功。

Studentship strategic priority area: Basic Bioscience Underpinning HeathKeywords: Oral, mucosa, immunity, host-microbe The gums in the mouth (gingivae) are constantly exposed to food, bacteria, and damage from chewing. The immune system must keep the gums healthy - despite the bacteria and damage from chewing. When this protection system fails, the barrier no longer functions, and this causes poor dental and general health. Compared with other barrier sites such as the gut, the mechanisms that keep the gingivae healthy are relatively poorly understood. Understanding how the immune system maintains healthy gums will provide new understanding of how oral health is maintained, and how effective maintenance of oral health may also prevent other diseases that affect general health. The team in Glasgow have established system to grow the bacteria that live in the mouth in the laboratory - and these lab-grown bacteria mimic the communities of bacteria found in the mouth. The bacteria can be set up alongside gingival tissue to establish how different bacteria impact the gingivae. This project aims to find out how the immune system works in the gingivae, and how the bacteria work alongside this immune system to keep the mouth healthy. This work aligns with several key BBSRC priorities. These studies will provide a change in our understanding of the influence of the microbiome on the host immune system. At least 10% of all antibiotic prescriptions provided in healthcare are prescribed for dental problems. Better understanding how to keep the mouth healthy can help prevent dental diseases and therefore in the long term reduce the reliance on antibiotics. Understanding the interactions between bacteria and the immune response may highlight that there are alternatives to antibiotics that can restore health. Thus, this project can help move towards alternatives to antimicrobials for dental health. The project will develop a model system that provides insights into physiological processes that are key for maintaining health - thereby informing healthy aging across the life course. The work will involve carefully validated in vitro model systems, that will further the absolute reduction of use of animals in research. The student working on this project will receive extensive training in a range of laboratory methods, in particular working with bacteria and cells of the immune system. The student will be involved in a wide variety of cutting-edge methods of data gathering and data analysis and will be working in a team of enthusiastic and highly motivated PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. In addition to skills specific to the project, there is training in a wide variety of skills that are essential for a scientist including presentations, writing, communication, ethics, regulatory matters, and data management among others. The student will work with our industry partner to gain exceptionally valuable experience in technology transfer, product development and marketing. Previous students from the group have gone on to successful roles in academia, industry, education, and communications.