This month, we are spotlighting an important study by Dr. Hongbing Yu and his team that was recently published in PNAS. This study utilized multiple state-of-the-art technologies provided by Core Technologies and Services at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR).
Dr. Hongbing Yu, a research associate in the Jacobson and B. Vallance Research teams, is studying how neurons, immune cells and microbes communicate in the gut. He and his colleagues studied a neuropeptide called vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) that is primarily secreted by neurons. They found that VIP promotes the recruitment of many immune cells to the gut, including group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). ILC3s are important for the formation of immune tissues in the gut, and play key roles in host defense against intestinal pathogens. Their research findings could lead to the development of novel strategies targeting host components rather than microbes to treat intestinal infections and inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr. Hongbing Yu, Dr. Kevan Jacobson and Dr. Bruce Vallance.
Dr. Yu’s research has been greatly facilitated by several technology platforms at BCCHR Core Technologies and Services. With the help from the BCCHR Histology Core, he was able to show that the lack of VIP makes the intestinal tissues susceptible to bacterial infections. To understand the basis for this, he used the high parameter flow cytometer BD FACS Symphony at the BCCHR Flow Cytometry Core to characterize different subsets of ILC3s regulated by VIP. He further sorted ILC3s via the flow cytometer BD FACS Aria and then transferred them into an animal model, confirming ILC3s confer protection against pathogen infections. Last but not least, through collaboration with the Analytical Core for Metabolomics and Nutrition (ACMaN), he found that VIP regulates the production of retinoic acid, a metabolite of Vitamin A, which increases the recruitment of ILC3s to the gut.
A pan-Canadian team has developed a new way to quickly find personalized treatments for young cancer patients, by growing their tumours in chicken eggs and analyzing their proteins.
The team, led by researchers from BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the University of British Columbia, is the first in Canada to combine these two techniques to identify and test a drug for a young patient's tumour in time for their treatment.
Pediatric nephrologist Dr. Susan Samuel, a new investigator who joined BCCHR in September 2024, has been investigating ways to improve the quality of life of children diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome. She is serving as the director for the ENRICH program, a national network of mentors and learners. We met Dr. Samuel to talk about the importance of research and mentorship.
BCCHR research highlights an exciting opportunity: schools can do more than deliver vaccines — they can spark knowledge! By integrating vaccine education into the curriculum, schools can boost confidence, empower students and families, and pave the way for stronger HPV vaccine uptake and cancer prevention.
A team of researchers at the Institute for Global Health (IGH) at BCCHR are leading an innovation that could have a positive impact on children worldwide. They have developed the RRate app, a mobile application that measures breathing rate and has been successfully used by frontline nurses in Uganda, a partner country of IGH. Widespread use of the app in low-resource settings could help save lives.
Congratulations to the investigators and their teams who were awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fall 2024 Project Grant competition!
We believe there’s nothing we can’t do with your support. It can take years to turn scientific breakthrough into new interventions and treatments. Funding helps speed the pace of change. When given the resources, we can bring transformative therapies – and hope – out of the laboratory and into the clinic to save and improve children’s lives.