Adrian Liston

Research Summary

The Liston laboratory works on regulatory T cells. These are a type of white blood cell that act to suppress the rest of the immune response, preventing spontaneous autoimmune disease and acting as a rheostat to control just how active our immune system is. The number of these cells in our blood goes up as we get old, which may contribute to the immune-suppressed state of older persons. We seek to understand these cells, using both patient material and mouse models, so that we can harness their power to fine-tune the immune system for healthy ageing.

Latest Publications

A Booster Dose Enhances Immunogenicity of the COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 in Aged Mice.
Silva-Cayetano A, Foster WS, Innocentin S, Belij-Rammerstorfer S, Spencer AJ, Burton OT, Fra-Bidó S, Le Lee J, Thakur N, Conceicao C, Wright D, Barrett J, Evans-Bailey N, Noble C, Bailey D, Liston A, Gilbert SC, Lambe T, Linterman MA

The spread of SARS-CoV-2 has caused a worldwide pandemic that has affected almost every aspect of human life. The development of an effective COVID-19 vaccine could limit the morbidity and mortality caused by infection and may enable the relaxation of social-distancing measures. Age is one of the most significant risk factors for poor health outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection; therefore, it is desirable that any new vaccine candidates elicit a robust immune response in older adults.

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Med (New York, N.Y.), 1, 1, 16 Dec 2020

PMID: 33521747

Author Correction: The cellular composition of the human immune system is shaped by age and cohabitation.
Carr EJ, Dooley J, Garcia-Perez JE, Lagou V, Lee JC, Wouters C, Meyts I, Goris A, Boeckxstaens G, Linterman MA, Liston A

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Nature immunology, 1, 1, 25 Nov 2020

PMID: 33239822

Increased IL-10-producing regulatory T cells are characteristic of severe cases of COVID-19.
Neumann J, Prezzemolo T, Vanderbeke L, Roca CP, Gerbaux M, Janssens S, Willemsen M, Burton O, Van Mol P, Van Herck Y, , Wauters J, Wauters E, Liston A, Humblet-Baron S

The pandemic spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is due, in part, to the immunological properties of the host-virus interaction. The clinical presentation varies from individual to individual, with asymptomatic carriers, mild-to-moderate-presenting patients and severely affected patients. Variation in immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may underlie this clinical variation.

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Clinical & translational immunology, 9, 11, 2020

PMID: 33209300