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Dissecting The Contribution Of IL-17-producing ?? T Cells In The Pathogenesis Of Airway Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$734,570.00
Summary
Airway diseases such as severe steroid-refractory asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are an enormous worldwide burden and have a huge public health impact. Approved drugs for these two diseases provide symptomatic relief but they do not halt the disease process, and curative therapy remains elusive. We have discovered a possible cause of chronic bronchitis, and using advanced techniques we are now probing for ways to turn this discovery into an effective treatment option.
Prof Mackay, through this Australia Fellowship, proposes to gain new knowledge on immune responses, by exploring these radical new ideas on inflammation and the role of diet and gastro-intestinal microflora. In addition, he hopes to develop new treatments for human diseases, by integrating new and powerful technologies and approaches for the generation of bio-therapeutics. Finally, genetically engineered mice will be pivotal in this process, and will enable the discovery of a new generation of m ....Prof Mackay, through this Australia Fellowship, proposes to gain new knowledge on immune responses, by exploring these radical new ideas on inflammation and the role of diet and gastro-intestinal microflora. In addition, he hopes to develop new treatments for human diseases, by integrating new and powerful technologies and approaches for the generation of bio-therapeutics. Finally, genetically engineered mice will be pivotal in this process, and will enable the discovery of a new generation of medicines not possible a couple of years ago. The Australia Fellowship will draw on considerable cross-discipline interactions, to produce powerful new directions in medical research. For instance, there is considerable evidence, but poor understanding, of how the immune system is regulated by metabolism or the role of stem cells in tissue remodelling associated with inflammation, or the delicate interplay between the immune system and cancers.Read moreRead less
Conventional And Unconventional T Cells In Interstitial Kidney Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$480,531.00
Summary
Acute damage to the kidney is a common life-threatening condition. Recent studies have shown that less well-studied types of immune cells contribute to kidney damage. However, how these cells enter and injure the kidney is unknown. In this project we will use a special microscope to look into the blood vessels of the kidney and visualise the cells inside kidney blood vessels in order to uncover their behaviour as they respond to acute inflammatory insult to the kidney.
Understanding Leukocyte Function In Inflammatory Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,370.00
Summary
In inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and lupus, white blood cells accumulate in organs and cause injury. The focus of this project is to understand how white blood cells leave the bloodstream and enter tissues. In particular, this project examines their contribution to inflammatory diseases of the kidney. By understanding this process in greater detail, we may be able to design more specific therapies to combat these conditions.
Cytokine Signalling And The Regulation Of Normal And Leukaemic Blood Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$948,684.00
Summary
The formation and actions of white blood cells are regulated by protein messengers called cytokines. Cytokines deliver their message by inducing the activation of signalling pathways that orchestrate the cell’s response to infection but when these responses occur too robustly or at inappropriate times they can lead to autoimmune disease, tissue damage and blood cancers. We study the naturally occurring feedback inhibitors of these processes in order to devise new treatments for these diseases.
Delineation Of The Role Of RasGRP4 In Mast Cell Growth, Differentiation And Activation, Using RasGRP4 Deficient Mice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,199.00
Summary
Mast cells are important in immunity. Mast cells have been implicated in asthma and more recently they have been shown to participate in immunity against bacteria, viruses and fungi. We have identified a specific protein, RasGRP4, which is restricted to mast cells and plays an important role in their development and function. Understanding this molecule more extensively will give us a much better understanding of diseases that the mast cell is involved in such as asthma and other disorders.
Regulation Of Leukocyte Recruitment In Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$686,656.00
Summary
In inflammatory diseases such as asthma, arthritis and atherosclerosis, white blood cells enter affected tissues causing inflammation and tissue destruction. This research will investigate the processes whereby white blood cells enter affected tissues, particularly how they exit the circulation, and migrate throughout tissues during inflammatory responses. An improved understanding of this process may identify new ways of interfering with the disease process in various inflammatory diseases.
Understanding The Interplay Between ER Stress And Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,918.00
Summary
Chronic inflammatory diseases in the gut and lung affect hundreds of thousands of Australians. We have identified how inflammation causes a type of stress resulting in abnormal protein synthesis in the cells which make the barrier to microbes. Following an infection this process might be the trigger for chronic unresolving inflammatory disease. The further understanding of this process we seek in this project is likely to lead new approaches to treat common inflammatory diseases.