Meng Wu
Washington University in St Louis, MO·Microbiology & Immunology·Early-career
Vaccines are one of public health's great successes, but they do not work equally well for everyone. Infants, older adults, people with weakened immune systems and people in low- and middle-income countries often respond poorly.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
gut microbiota
microbiome
stromal cells
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2029
What they work on
- Identify the gut stromal cell populations that fail to produce the immune signals needed for B-cell development and antibody production, using germ-free mice colonized with gut microbes from human donors who responded poorly to oral cholera vaccine.
- Pinpoint the bacterial strains or microbial molecules needed for stromal cell development and activation, combining microbiota analysis with stromal cell culture systems, single-cell RNA sequencing and proteomics.
- Test whether the microbes that activate stromal cells can boost B-cell responses and antibody production after vaccination, both in the gut and at sites outside the intestine.
More about the research
The community of microbes living in the gut, the gut microbiota, appears to help shape how strongly the body responds to a vaccine. How these microbes influence B cells, the immune cells that make antibodies, is still poorly understood. This project focuses on stromal cells, the structural support cells in tissues that also send signals that start, sustain and end B-cell responses.
Why it matters
Many people, including infants, the elderly, immunocompromised patients and people in low- and middle-income countries, get weaker protection from vaccines. If specific gut bacteria or bacterial molecules are found to strengthen stromal cell support of B cells, they could become low-cost add-ons that improve oral cholera vaccine responses and possibly other vaccines. The same approach could eventually inform microbe-based therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and cancer immunotherapy.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
June Louise Round
University of Utah, UT·Microbiology & Immunology
Catalog which commensal viruses in stool from healthy humans are bound by mucosal IgA and IgG antibodies, by purifying and sorting antibody-coated DNA and RNA viral particles.
Carrie Cowardin
University of Virginia, VA·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether gut microbiota from stunted human infants drive dysregulated intestinal immunity, using germ-free mice colonized with stunted or healthy infant microbiota whose pups are weaned onto a nutrient-deficient diet.
Pawel Kiela
University of Arizona, AZ·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine whether loss of NAD+ or excess PARylation by the enzyme PARP1 is the main driver of experimental colitis, using PARP1 knockout mice and drug inhibition.
The school
Washington University in St Louis: 97 labs on PI Pages, $1.2B a year on research, 365 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.