Ontogeny of Immunity in Frogs/Thyroid Hormone Effects
{'Code': '08060200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DCB', 'LongName': 'Division of Cellular Biosciences'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Maryanna P. Henkart', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Previous studies of the immune responses of tadpoles and                    adult South African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis, have shown that               tadpole responses are generally poorer, indicative of an immature               immune system.  Because immune responses improve after                          metamorphosis, and this improvement appears to be thyroxine                     dependent, it is postulated that the hormonal changes at                        metamorphosis transform the larval immune system to an adult-                   type system.  Specifically, it is proposed that a population of                 larval lymphocytes is destroyed at metamorphosis and is replaced                following a new wave of hematopoiesis by another population that                will function in the adult.  The studies proposed here are                      designed to examine further the immunological deficits that                     result from low thyroid hormone concentrations during development               and metamorphosis, to establish more clearly whether a distinct                 larval lymphocyte population exists, and to examine the  effects                of altered thyroid hormone concentrations during  metamorphosis                 on the decline of the putative larval population and emergence of               the adult population.  Direct effects of thyroid and                            corticosteroid hormones on the viability and function of cultured               lymphocytes from premetamorphic tadpoles, metamorphosing                        tadpoles, and adult frogs will also be studied.  Finally, a study               of the expression of Class I MHC antigens in precociously                       metamorphosis frogs will test the hypothesis that altered skin                  allograft rejection responses in these frogs is due to premature                expansion of the adult lymphocyte population prior to expression                of Class I antigens.                                                                    Because tadpoles develop as free-living organisms they                  need a functional immune system to protect them from                            environmental pathogens.  The larval immune system must change                  during metamorphosis to accomodate new adult-specific antigens,                 or these antigens would be recognized as foreign and the                        metamorphosing tadpole would begin to destroy itself.                           Understanding how the immune system changes at metamorphosis and                the role of various metamorphosis-related hormones in these                     changes should give us greater insight into the process by which                self-recognition and immunological tolerance to self develop.
{'FirstName': 'Louise', 'LastName': 'Rollins-Smith', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'A', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Louise A Rollins-Smith', 'EmailAddress': 'louise.rollins-smith@vanderbilt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000385342', 'StartDate': '09/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Vanderbilt University Medical Center', 'CityName': 'Nashville', 'ZipCode': '372032408', 'PhoneNumber': '6153222631', 'StreetAddress': 'Suite 800', 'StreetAddress2': '110 21st Avenue, South', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Tennessee', 'StateCode': 'TN', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '05', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'TN05', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'DWH7MSXKA2A8', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': None, 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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[{'Code': '1114', 'Text': 'Cellular Dynamics and Function'}, {'Code': '1117', 'Text': 'CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY'}]
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8710235.xml'}