Fighting back against superbugs – enhancing the immune response in ageing lungs

Wezi’s research focuses on how ageing affects immune responses in the lungs. By identifying ways to boost natural immunity, his work could reduce the severity of infections, decrease antibiotic use, and therefore play an important role in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Ageing and our lungs

“As we get older, our immune system becomes less capable of responding to threats”, says Wezi, “and its ability to limit collateral damage to our tissue becomes impaired.”

“That means that older people are more susceptible to respiratory tract infections like pneumonia, and when they get them, they can be more severe.”

Bacterial pneumonia leads to inflammation in tiny air sacs in the lungs, which can fill with fluid, making it difficult for oxygen to reach the bloodstream. As we age, inflammation is slower to subside once an infection is cleared and may even turn into persistent low-level inflammation. This can cause collateral damage that makes secondary infections, like sepsis, more likely. Having pneumonia later in life is more likely to be fatal.

This all means that antibiotics may need to be used more frequently in older patients, exacerbating the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

Understanding what changes as we get older

To better understand these age-related changes, Wezi’s study focused on alveolar macrophages, the immune cells in the lungs that regulate inflammation after an infection.

To simulate the early stages of infection, his team introduced a bacterial component into participants’ lungs and then used bronchoscopy, a specialised camera technique, to collect and analyse immune cells. By comparing immune responses between young adults aged 18 to 30 and older adults over 65, the researchers identified key differences in how these immune cells respond to infection.

This research could aid the development of targeted treatments, aimed at enhancing the immune response in older adults. By improving the immune response, these treatments could reduce hospital stays, lessen the severity of infections, and decrease the need for antibiotics.

A dual career in research and medicine

Wezi now holds a prestigious NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer position, allowing him to combine working as a doctor in respiratory medicine with his research pursuits.

Our PhD training programme has been instrumental in shaping his career. “It’s been a great help in the progression of my career and provided me with invaluable research training,” says Wezi. The Foundation’s support allowed him to take time out of his clinical work to pursue a PhD in a top-tier research setting, surrounded by leading experts. “The opportunity to train in such an excellent research environment has enabled me to develop research questions that are directly relevant to my clinical work,” he says.

This experience has positioned Wezi as a clinical academic, where his clinical practice informs his research, and his research, in turn, enhances patient care. “Being able to combine clinical work with research has allowed me to make better care decisions and improve patient outcomes,” he says. The funding, he believes, has laid the groundwork for what he hopes will be a rich and impactful career, ultimately benefiting patients in meaningful ways. “I feel very fortunate, and I hope that my work will be helpful to people in some way,” Wezi concludes.

A thank you to donors

“As for people that donate for the purposes of research – they are allowing patient care to be richer,” says Wezi.

We are proud to be funding this research and extend a special thank you to the Barbour Foundation for supporting it.