Histone deacetylase functions in immune cells. This project aims to define how an enzyme (a histone deacetylase) enables innate immune cells (macrophages) to respond to specific danger signals, such as those activating Toll-like Receptors. To identify processes that provide specificity to signal transduction pathways, this project will characterise protein targets and biological functions of a specific class IIa histone deacetylase in macrophages. This project expects to result in an understandi ....Histone deacetylase functions in immune cells. This project aims to define how an enzyme (a histone deacetylase) enables innate immune cells (macrophages) to respond to specific danger signals, such as those activating Toll-like Receptors. To identify processes that provide specificity to signal transduction pathways, this project will characterise protein targets and biological functions of a specific class IIa histone deacetylase in macrophages. This project expects to result in an understanding of histone deacetylases and protein deacetylation in immune cell responses which can be harnessed to manipulate cell functions for basic science and biotechnology uses.Read moreRead less
Convergence of biomaterials and immunology: a technology platform for delayed burst release of vaccines. A large challenge in vaccination, particularly in wildlife such as for the growing problem of Chlamydia in koalas, is to provide the necessary booster shots. This project will develop implants that will be inserted under the skin at the time of the first shot, and will spontaneously burst later to release the booster shot to provide protection.
Bacterial and host drivers of chlamydial blindness in koalas. Chlamydial infection of the eyes is a significant cause of disease and death in koalas, contributing to the ongoing decline of this native species. Little is known about what influences the outcome of these infections, challenging efforts to manage and control koala chlamydial blindness. This project aims to evaluate whether differences in the infecting Chlamydia pecorum strains or the koala immune response, are associated with the ou ....Bacterial and host drivers of chlamydial blindness in koalas. Chlamydial infection of the eyes is a significant cause of disease and death in koalas, contributing to the ongoing decline of this native species. Little is known about what influences the outcome of these infections, challenging efforts to manage and control koala chlamydial blindness. This project aims to evaluate whether differences in the infecting Chlamydia pecorum strains or the koala immune response, are associated with the outcome of chlamydial ocular infection. In addition to helping us to understand and prevent blindness in koalas, this project should significantly expand our knowledge of the koala immune system and generate an array of koala immunological assays, outcomes that may benefit all koala conservation efforts.Read moreRead less
Engineered Polymer Nanoparticles: A Potent Weapon Against Cancer. Cervical cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in women under the age of 50 worldwide, the 8th most common cancer among women in Australia, and is the leading cause of cancer death in Aboriginal women. While a vaccine is available to prevent HPV-mediated disease, it would not impact upon death rates for at least 25 years. The systemic delivery of RNAi offers to best opportunity to solve this problem. The delivery devices w ....Engineered Polymer Nanoparticles: A Potent Weapon Against Cancer. Cervical cancer is the commonest cause of cancer death in women under the age of 50 worldwide, the 8th most common cancer among women in Australia, and is the leading cause of cancer death in Aboriginal women. While a vaccine is available to prevent HPV-mediated disease, it would not impact upon death rates for at least 25 years. The systemic delivery of RNAi offers to best opportunity to solve this problem. The delivery devices will be designed with precision and function to meet the delivery needs in vivo. These polymer structures will be suitable for use in drug and gene delivery providing Australian products with advanced features and capabilities, significantly improving product performance.Read moreRead less
Role of the complement system in the healthy and diseased central nervous system. The investigation into the role of the immune system in the central nervous system will increase our understanding of the causes behind the neurodegenerative process in aging individuals. This research will also indicate the potential for new types of anti-inflammatory drugs, to be used to slow the neurodegenerative process occurring naturally in the aging brain. These drugs could also be useful in treating drastic ....Role of the complement system in the healthy and diseased central nervous system. The investigation into the role of the immune system in the central nervous system will increase our understanding of the causes behind the neurodegenerative process in aging individuals. This research will also indicate the potential for new types of anti-inflammatory drugs, to be used to slow the neurodegenerative process occurring naturally in the aging brain. These drugs could also be useful in treating drastic neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neuron disease, Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease. Of these, only Parkinson's disease currently has some effective treatments. Community and National benefits would be increased health, decreased stress and major economic savings.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary genetics of the immune system in social insects. Insects possess efficient innate immunity against pathogens, but social insects are suggested to be vulnerable due to their packed colonies of related individuals. We predict that pathogen pressure varies with life history and microhabitat details, and that this variation will be reflected in the molecular evolutionary rates of immune system genes. Sequence information will be obtained to test these predictions. The results should ....Evolutionary genetics of the immune system in social insects. Insects possess efficient innate immunity against pathogens, but social insects are suggested to be vulnerable due to their packed colonies of related individuals. We predict that pathogen pressure varies with life history and microhabitat details, and that this variation will be reflected in the molecular evolutionary rates of immune system genes. Sequence information will be obtained to test these predictions. The results should be of widespread interest as reflecting the importance of pathogens and life pattern, and increase our knowledge of insect immune systems, potentially enabling circumvention of pest defenses and better protection of beneficial species.Read moreRead less
Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the imm ....Improving immune response to vaccines by selective targeting of epithelial regions with the Nanopatch. Vaccination protects us from infections like measles and flu. In principle, it could protect us from all diseases, even from skin cancer and arthritis. In practice, however, vaccines to diseases like cancer have largely proved ineffective. One problem is that we don't really understand how the body's immune system responds to vaccination. Our aim, therefore, is to investigate changes in the immune system when a vaccine enters the skin, as might happen by injection. Experimenting with laboratory mice and a special vaccine-injecting Nanopatch that is attached to each mouse's ear, we are starting to understand how a vaccine affects the immune cells in the skin. In the future we plan to apply this knowledge to improve vaccination in people.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary immunology of social insects. Social insects are particularly abundant in Australia. They live in a wide range of habitats with social systems differing greatly in size and structure. They are both ecologically and economically important because they form a large part of terrestrial ecosystems and control much of the energy flow. Their immune system resembles the immune system of humans. Finding how the social insect immune system evolves will have the potential to help us manag ....Evolutionary immunology of social insects. Social insects are particularly abundant in Australia. They live in a wide range of habitats with social systems differing greatly in size and structure. They are both ecologically and economically important because they form a large part of terrestrial ecosystems and control much of the energy flow. Their immune system resembles the immune system of humans. Finding how the social insect immune system evolves will have the potential to help us manage them better, and yield functional insights into the human innate immune system. Placing the observed patterns in context also involves study of the associated microbes, finds how social insects interact with this important part of the environment, and may assist in land management.Read moreRead less
A conserved pathway of cell death in response to invading DNA. This project aims to characterise molecular details of a new pathway of foreign DNA recognition and rapid cell death. Recognition of foreign DNA is a key means by which both bacteria and eukaryotic cells can detect infections, as well as guard their own genome. Eukaryotic cell DNA is sequestered in the nucleus and organelles, and any DNA found in the cytosol is a danger signal. The project proposes that cytosolic DNA-induced cell dea ....A conserved pathway of cell death in response to invading DNA. This project aims to characterise molecular details of a new pathway of foreign DNA recognition and rapid cell death. Recognition of foreign DNA is a key means by which both bacteria and eukaryotic cells can detect infections, as well as guard their own genome. Eukaryotic cell DNA is sequestered in the nucleus and organelles, and any DNA found in the cytosol is a danger signal. The project proposes that cytosolic DNA-induced cell death is a fundamental eukaryotic defensive response, but surprisingly, the known pathway is restricted to macrophages of some mammals. Project outcomes may be applied to protein expression yield in biotechnology or advances in gene therapy.Read moreRead less
Structure and function of novel macrophage proteins using high throughput crystallography. We will combine the cutting edge technologies of microarray analysis and high throughput crystallography in an innovative approach to study the structure and function of important and uncharacterised macrophage proteins. Our strategy for targeting novel macrophage proteins will maximise the success rate of structure determination, while at the same time focusing our efforts on proteins that are important i ....Structure and function of novel macrophage proteins using high throughput crystallography. We will combine the cutting edge technologies of microarray analysis and high throughput crystallography in an innovative approach to study the structure and function of important and uncharacterised macrophage proteins. Our strategy for targeting novel macrophage proteins will maximise the success rate of structure determination, while at the same time focusing our efforts on proteins that are important in macrophage biology. Structures of the novel proteins will underpin functional analysis at a molecular level and could represent a basis for inhibitor design should the proteins ultimately be shown to be therapeutic targets.Read moreRead less