Liver Immunology Group

What we do

The Liver Immunology Group is located on the Hammersmith (Commonwealth Building, 10th floor) and St Mary’s (QEQM Building, 10th floor) campuses. The lab investigates the microbial, metabolic, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying immune dysregulation during acute and chronic liver injury. To determine this, we study both human tissue samples and in vivo disease models and employ flow cytometry, intravital imaging, single-cell and spatial multi-omics. Throughout our work, we seek to advance our immunological understanding of liver disease pathogenesis and identify targets for developing immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches. One part of our research focuses on the dysregulated and often ineffective immune responses to infection in acute (e.g., APAP overdose) and chronic (e.g., MASLD) liver disease. Another significant area of interest in the lab is determining the mechanisms through which different checkpoint pathways such as the PD-(L)1 and TIGIT axes, control peripheral and hepatic immune responses, at steady state and during liver inflammation, with the aim of exploiting this to produce new immune-directed therapies. 

Summary of current research

• Immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches in acute and chronic liver failure
• Myeloid cell functional heterogeneity in decompensated cirrhosis
• Checkpoint pathways and immune (dys-) regulation in liver disease
• Dysregulated lipid metabolism and immunity in liver failure syndromes

Find out more about the Triantafyllou Lab.