Krystalyn Hudson
University of Virginia, VA·Microbiology & Immunology
Red blood cell transfusions save lives; about 1 in 70 Americans receives one each year. Some recipients, however, make antibodies against the donor's red blood cell markers, called blood group antigens.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
red blood cell transfusion
RBC alloimmunization
alloantibodies
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2028
What they work on
- Test whether red blood cell units rich in reticulocytes, young red cells that still contain mitochondria, raise alloantibody rates after transfusion, using mouse models that mimic repeat blood donation.
- Determine whether recipients with ongoing reticulocyte production, modeled in mice with hemolytic anemia or repeated blood draws, make stronger antibody responses to transfused donor red cells.
- Identify the reticulocyte molecules that activate immune cells and start alloimmune responses, by tracking and measuring immune responses to reticulocytes in four mouse models.
- Compare how reticulocytes alter the function of antibody-producing B cells from patients with reticulocytosis, such as hemolytic anemia, versus healthy controls.
More about the research
This process is known as alloimmunization. The resulting "alloantibodies" can make future transfusions, pregnancies and organ transplants dangerous. Few treatments can prevent this or remove the antibodies once they form. Doctors therefore need ways to predict which blood units are likely to trigger antibodies and which patients are most at risk.
Why it matters
Understanding how reticulocytes boost antibody responses could help blood banks flag donor units that are more likely to trigger antibodies. It could also help clinicians identify recipients at high risk, such as patients with hemolytic anemias. This could reduce complications in later transfusions, pregnancies and transplants. The work may also reveal targets for therapies that prevent or treat alloimmunization.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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The school
University of Virginia: 43 labs on PI Pages, $814M a year on research, 413 research doctorates a year.
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