Dr Joanne Jones University positionWellcome-Beit Prize and Intermediate Clinical Fellow Dr Joanne Jones is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students. DepartmentsDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences InstitutesClifford Allbutt Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus Home pagehttp://www.neurology.cam.ac.uk/ Research ThemeInterestsWe study human autoimmunity; in particular we aim to understand why autoimmunity often occurs during recovery from T cell lymphopenia. People with multiple sclerosis, treated with the highly effective lymphocyte depleting antibody alemtuzumab offer a rare opportunity to study this phenomenon directly in humans, as 1 in 3 patients develop a new autoimmune disease after treatment (mainly thyroid). Using this “human model” we have shown that rebound T cell reconstitution via the proliferation of cells that have escaped depletion is antagonistic to tolerance. We now ask: 1) Can autoimmunity after alemtuzumab be reduced by promoting T cell production via the thymus? In collaboration with Alasdair Coles, we are testing this approach in an MRC-funded trial (CAMTHY). 2) Why do regulatory T cells (which expand more rapidly than non-Tregs) fail to prevent reconstitution associated autoimmunity? This question forms the basis of a Wellcome-Trust funded project.  Differential gene methylation status (by bisulfite sequencing) of sorted CD4+ Tregs and non-Tregs Click image to view full-size Research Focus
EquipmentBisulphite Sequencing Cell culture Enzyme assays Flow Cytometry Fluorescence microscopy Immunohistochemistry Next Generation Sequencing Proliferation Assays Collaborators
Associated News ItemsPublications2014Azzopardi L, Thompson SA, Harding KE, Cossburn M, Robertson N, Compston A, Coles AJ, Jones JL (2014), “Predicting autoimmunity after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 85(7):795-8 Details Coles, AJ, Jones JL. (2014), “Targeting CD52 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis” Targeting CD52 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis Jones JL, Coles AJ (2014), “Mode of action and clinical studies with alemtuzumab.” Exp Neurol 262PA:37-43 Details Kemppinen AK, Baker A, Liao W, Fiddes B, Jones J, Compston A, Ban M, Sawcer S (2014), “Exome sequencing in single cells from the cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis.” Mult Scler 20(12):1564-8 Details Kousin-Ezewu O, Azzopardi L, Parker RA, Tuohy O, Compston A, Coles A, Jones J (2014), “Accelerated lymphocyte recovery after alemtuzumab does not predict multiple sclerosis activity.” Neurology 82(24):2158-64 Details Tuohy O, Costelloe L, Hill-Cawthorne G, Bjornson I, Harding K, Robertson N, May K, Button T, Azzopardi L, Kousin-Ezewu O, Fahey MT, Jones J, Compston DA, Coles A (2014), “Alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis: long-term safety and efficacy.” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry Details Zandi MS, Paterson RW, Ellul MA, Jacobson L, Al-Diwani A, Jones JL, Cox AL, Lennox B, Stamelou M, Bhatia KP, Schott JM, Coles AJ, Kullmann DM, Vincent A (2014), “Clinical relevance of serum antibodies to extracellular N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor epitopes.” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry Details 2013Abrahamsson SV, Angelini DF, Dubinsky AN, Morel E, Oh U, Jones JL, Carassiti D, Reynolds R, Salvetti M, Calabresi PA, Coles AJ, Battistini L, Martin R, Burt RK, Muraro PA (2013), “Non-myeloablative autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation expands regulatory cells and depletes IL-17 producing mucosal-associated invariant T cells in multiple sclerosis.” Brain 136(Pt 9):2888-903 Details Brown JW, Coles AJ, Jones JL (2013), “First use of alemtuzumab in Balo's concentric sclerosis: a case report.” Mult Scler 19(12):1673-5 Details Jones JL, Thompson SA, Loh P, Davies JL, Tuohy OC, Curry AJ, Azzopardi L, Hill-Cawthorne G, Fahey MT, Compston A, Coles AJ (2013), “Human autoimmunity after lymphocyte depletion is caused by homeostatic T-cell proliferation.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(50):20200-5 Details McCarthy CL, Tuohy O, Compston DA, Kumararatne DS, Coles AJ, Jones JL (2013), “Immune competence after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.” Neurology 81(10):872-6 Details 2012Costelloe L, Jones J, Coles A (2012), “Secondary autoimmune diseases following alemtuzumab therapy for multiple sclerosis.” Expert Rev Neurother 12(3):335-41 Details Hill-Cawthorne GA, Button T, Tuohy O, Jones JL, May K, Somerfield J, Green A, Giovannoni G, Compston DA, Fahey MT, Coles AJ (2012), “Long term lymphocyte reconstitution after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis.” J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 83(3):298-304 Details 2011Cossburn M, Pace AA, Jones J, Ali R, Ingram G, Baker K, Hirst C, Zajicek J, Scolding N, Boggild M, Pickersgill T, Ben-Shlomo Y, Coles A, Robertson NP (2011), “Autoimmune disease after alemtuzumab treatment for multiple sclerosis in a multicenter cohort.” Neurology 77(6):573-9 Details Jones JL, Dean AF, Antoun N, Scoffings DJ, Burnet NG, Coles AJ (2011), “'Radiologically compatible CLIPPERS' may conceal a number of pathologies.” Brain 134(Pt 8):e187 Details 2010Jones JL, Anderson JM, Phuah CL, Fox EJ, Selmaj K, Margolin D, Lake SL, Palmer J, Thompson SJ, Wilkins A, Webber DJ, Compston DA, Coles AJ (2010), “Improvement in disability after alemtuzumab treatment of multiple sclerosis is associated with neuroprotective autoimmunity.” Brain 133(Pt 8):2232-47 Details Jones JL, Coles AJ (2010), “New treatment strategies in multiple sclerosis.” Exp Neurol 225(1):34-9 Details Marsh EA, Hirst CL, Llewelyn JG, Cossburn MD, Reilly MM, Krishnan A, Doran M, Ryan AM, Coles AJ, Jones JL, Robertson NP (2010), “Alemtuzumab in the treatment of IVIG-dependent chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.” J Neurol 257(6):913-9 Details Somerfield J, Hill-Cawthorne GA, Lin A, Zandi MS, McCarthy C, Jones JL, Willcox M, Shaw D, Thompson SA, Compston AS, Hale G, Waldmann H, Coles AJ (2010), “A novel strategy to reduce the immunogenicity of biological therapies.” J Immunol 185(1):763-8 Details Thompson SA, Jones JL, Cox AL, Compston DA, Coles AJ (2010), “B-cell reconstitution and BAFF after alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) treatment of multiple sclerosis.” J Clin Immunol 30(1):99-105 Details 2009Jones JL, Coles AJ (2009), “Spotlight on alemtuzumab.” Int MS J 16(3):77-81 Details Jones JL, Phuah CL, Cox AL, Thompson SA, Ban M, Shawcross J, Walton A, Sawcer SJ, Compston A, Coles AJ (2009), “IL-21 drives secondary autoimmunity in patients with multiple sclerosis, following therapeutic lymphocyte depletion with alemtuzumab (Campath-1H).” J Clin Invest 119(7):2052-61 Details 2008CAMMS223 Trial Investigators, Coles AJ, Compston DA, Selmaj KW, Lake SL, Moran S, Margolin DH, Norris K, Tandon PK (2008), “Alemtuzumab vs. interferon beta-1a in early multiple sclerosis.” N Engl J Med 359(17):1786-801 Details Jones JL, Coles AJ (2008), “Campath-1H treatment of multiple sclerosis.” Neurodegener Dis 5(1):27-31 Details 2006Coles AJ, Cox A, Le Page E, Jones J, Trip SA, Deans J, Seaman S, Miller DH, Hale G, Waldmann H, Compston DA (2006), “The window of therapeutic opportunity in multiple sclerosis: evidence from monoclonal antibody therapy.” J Neurol 253(1):98-108 Details Jones JL (2006), “The basics of Microarrays” Advances in Clinical Neuroscience 6(1): 29-31 2005Cox AL, Thompson SA, Jones JL, Robertson VH, Hale G, Waldmann H, Compston DA, Coles AJ (2005), “Lymphocyte homeostasis following therapeutic lymphocyte depletion in multiple sclerosis.” Eur J Immunol 35(11):3332-42 Details |