Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100020
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
Collaborative high bio-containment immunological research facility. Emerging infectious diseases are a serious threat to animals and humans, with most new human infections originating in animals. Our capacity to study these infections and their effects on the immune system is limited. This Facility will provide core equipment for analysis of immune responses to infection at the highest levels of bio-containment.
Understanding the life and death of Mucosal-associated invariant T cells. Cell death of naïve T cells in lymphoid organs is well-understood. However, T cells only gain their function upon activation, and how activated T cells regulate their life or death remains unclear. Mucosal-associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant in non-lymphoid tissues as key local players in immunity, and share some features of activated conventional T cells. This project aims to define how MAIT cell survival and ....Understanding the life and death of Mucosal-associated invariant T cells. Cell death of naïve T cells in lymphoid organs is well-understood. However, T cells only gain their function upon activation, and how activated T cells regulate their life or death remains unclear. Mucosal-associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant in non-lymphoid tissues as key local players in immunity, and share some features of activated conventional T cells. This project aims to define how MAIT cell survival and death are controlled. It combines methods we developed to track MAIT cells in vivo with expertise in cell death analysis. This project is expected to elucidate the complex mechanisms controlling MAIT cell survival/death and increase our fundamental understanding of cell death mechanisms of activated T cells.Read moreRead less
Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 5: a novel regulator of T cell immunity. T cells provide critical immune protection against infection and cancer. However, the pathways that regulate these immune cells are not fully understood. T cells express a molecule called S1P5 that has an unknown function in these cells. In this proposal, we reveal new evidence that this molecule is an unappreciated and crucial regulator of T cell behaviour. Using state-of-the-art techniques and novel genetic tools, this p ....Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 5: a novel regulator of T cell immunity. T cells provide critical immune protection against infection and cancer. However, the pathways that regulate these immune cells are not fully understood. T cells express a molecule called S1P5 that has an unknown function in these cells. In this proposal, we reveal new evidence that this molecule is an unappreciated and crucial regulator of T cell behaviour. Using state-of-the-art techniques and novel genetic tools, this project aims to discover the involvement of S1P5 in the immune response, and determine how S1P5 can be controlled to enhance protective T cell immunity. The expected outcomes are to generate fundamental new knowledge that will have significance for regulation of the immune response. Read moreRead less
Development of novel vaccine delivery systems for induction of mucosal immunity in a large animal model. The induction of mucosal immune responses is a highly desirable goal in vaccine research and development, as it prevents entry of the large number of mucosal pathogens. This proposal aims to develop new mucosal vaccine delivery systems by combining intra-nasal, intra-lung and transcutaneous vaccine delivery with ISCOM-based adjuvants. The nature of the immune response will be analysed in real ....Development of novel vaccine delivery systems for induction of mucosal immunity in a large animal model. The induction of mucosal immune responses is a highly desirable goal in vaccine research and development, as it prevents entry of the large number of mucosal pathogens. This proposal aims to develop new mucosal vaccine delivery systems by combining intra-nasal, intra-lung and transcutaneous vaccine delivery with ISCOM-based adjuvants. The nature of the immune response will be analysed in real time using a sheep cannulation model. Subsequently, the efficacy of mucosal vaccination strategies will be tested in a chlamydia infection model.Read moreRead less
New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based intervent ....New guardians of the mucosa: Molecular characterisation of M cell biology. We aim to completely define the cellular and molecular biology of gut and lung M cells for the first time. We will elucidate how they develop, are regulated and function at a molecular level, and how M cells maintain normal gut and lung tissues and induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges. In the future, the new insights will be essential pre-requisites for the development of mucosal-based interventions and vaccines that protect the gut and lung from infectious and inflammatory issues. The harnessing of effective immune responses to control such challenges, are of enormous fundamental and long-standing biological interest, and are amongst the most important areas of current scientific research.Read moreRead less