A Structural Investigation Into Events Within The Immunological Synapse. The proposed research program, using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based radiation, will provide significant fundamental insight into the processes that control infection. Investigating processes central to immunity is important, as it will further our understanding of these critically-important events. Such knowledge will increase Australia's international research standing, as well as having the potential to generat ....A Structural Investigation Into Events Within The Immunological Synapse. The proposed research program, using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based radiation, will provide significant fundamental insight into the processes that control infection. Investigating processes central to immunity is important, as it will further our understanding of these critically-important events. Such knowledge will increase Australia's international research standing, as well as having the potential to generate novel therapies, such as immunosuppressants.Read moreRead less
A novel role for the proteins Scribble & Dlg in the formation of cell protrusions and their effects on cell function. Dlg and Scribble are recently discovered proteins that are required during development, immune regulation, neural signalling and tumour suppression. Understanding how they work will enable the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools that have the potential to influence an enormous range of diseases, from cancer to immunodeficiencies and autoimmune diseases. Researchers at ....A novel role for the proteins Scribble & Dlg in the formation of cell protrusions and their effects on cell function. Dlg and Scribble are recently discovered proteins that are required during development, immune regulation, neural signalling and tumour suppression. Understanding how they work will enable the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools that have the potential to influence an enormous range of diseases, from cancer to immunodeficiencies and autoimmune diseases. Researchers at the PeterMac perform world-leading research into the biology of Scribble and Dlg, and their role in cancer biology and immune function. The mechanistic insight provided by this project will continue that tradition, and facilitate translation of our basic research into clinical applications in important disease areas.Read moreRead less
An X-ray crystallographic investigation into co-receptors on T-lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are an indispensable cellular component of the immune system. The normal process of T cell selection in the thymus, and the ability of mature T cells to respond to foreign antigens are governed by receptor recognition and co-receptor mediated events. The co-receptors encompass a wide spectrum of structurally diverse proteins that are involved in adhesion, co-ligation and signal transduction. This proposa ....An X-ray crystallographic investigation into co-receptors on T-lymphocytes. T lymphocytes are an indispensable cellular component of the immune system. The normal process of T cell selection in the thymus, and the ability of mature T cells to respond to foreign antigens are governed by receptor recognition and co-receptor mediated events. The co-receptors encompass a wide spectrum of structurally diverse proteins that are involved in adhesion, co-ligation and signal transduction. This proposal aims to investigate, using X-ray crystallography as the primary research tool, co- receptors located on T-lymphocytes. This work will gain fundamental insights into co-receptor function.Read moreRead less
GENOMIC/PHENOMIC IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL HEMATOPOIETIC REGULATORS. Blood cells are fundamental to health. They play a vital role in maintaining the condition of tissues and organs, fight infections and are essential players in the body's response to injury. Understanding how blood cells are produced and how they function is critical to improving the treatment of disease. With the sequencing of the genome, we now have the tools we need to find the genes controlling these proc ....GENOMIC/PHENOMIC IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL HEMATOPOIETIC REGULATORS. Blood cells are fundamental to health. They play a vital role in maintaining the condition of tissues and organs, fight infections and are essential players in the body's response to injury. Understanding how blood cells are produced and how they function is critical to improving the treatment of disease. With the sequencing of the genome, we now have the tools we need to find the genes controlling these processes. This project will harness the power of modern genetic technologies to dissect the role of novel genes involved in blood cell formation and function, and will open up new therapeutic opportunities for treating the many diseases associated with dysregulation of this important cell system. Read moreRead less
Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight i ....Dissecting the Parameters for the Generation of Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Immunity. This project aims to identify mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, prime CD8+ T cells to generate effector and memory populations at the molecular level. The specific intention is to identify reagents capable of licensing dendritic cells, and examine the down-stream gene products/pathways generated by these signals using microarray analyses. Such knowledge will provide new insight into CTL generation by providing greater understanding of how multicellular systems function both at the cellular and molecular level.Read moreRead less
Imaging of immune responses to pathogens in vivo. This proposal represents an excellent opportunity for Australian science to participate in state-of-the-art research into the immune system and to be internationally competitive with the best researchers in the field. By combining advanced microscopy techniques with well developed biological models used by researchers at the University of Melbourne, this project will greatly improve our understanding of the dynamic interactions that occur betwee ....Imaging of immune responses to pathogens in vivo. This proposal represents an excellent opportunity for Australian science to participate in state-of-the-art research into the immune system and to be internationally competitive with the best researchers in the field. By combining advanced microscopy techniques with well developed biological models used by researchers at the University of Melbourne, this project will greatly improve our understanding of the dynamic interactions that occur between cells of the immune system during infectious diseases. The insight provided by this project will facilitate the design of better vaccines for protection against diseases, including influenza.Read moreRead less
Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifyin ....Studies on peripheral T cell memory. Success in vaccination depends on the ability of the immune system to remember prior encounter with an infectious agent. This immune memory appears to work well for certain infections but not others, essentially meaning that for these diseases, effective vaccines remain unavailable. This application describes experiments based on a new leukocyte or white blood cell population that has been overlooked in studies of immune memory. The work involves identifying how they are formed and how they behave within the body. This work will therefore contribute to the development and production of new-generation vaccines to these so far uncontrollable infectious diseases.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will ....Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will benefit the design of vaccines, the treatment of cancer, and our understanding of allergy. This state-of-the-art facility will also provide vital training in an emerging technology that will have application in many areas of biology.
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Understanding the T cell repertoire in health and disease. Immune recognition of viruses usually involves a large number of different 'killer T cells' that kill cells infected by virus. However, during prolonged infection or in the elderly the number of different killer T cells that recognise the virus is greatly reduced. This reduction in the diversity of the immune response allows the virus to avoid immune recognition, and leads to more severe infection. We aim to understand how diversity is ....Understanding the T cell repertoire in health and disease. Immune recognition of viruses usually involves a large number of different 'killer T cells' that kill cells infected by virus. However, during prolonged infection or in the elderly the number of different killer T cells that recognise the virus is greatly reduced. This reduction in the diversity of the immune response allows the virus to avoid immune recognition, and leads to more severe infection. We aim to understand how diversity is generated in the immune response, and how it becomes narrowed with age or prolonged infection. This information can be used to design vaccines for persistent infections such as HIV, and to improve immune control of infection in the elderly.Read moreRead less
Enhancing immunogenicity of DNA vaccines by targeted delivery to antigen presenting cells. Vaccines have proven to be one of the most effective means of preventing infection and also provide promise as a treatment for cancer. However, the range of effective technologies that make possible the delivery of vaccines that can protect against a broad range of infections is limited. DNA based vaccines are attractive because they are relatively easy to produce against a wide range of infections. Howeve ....Enhancing immunogenicity of DNA vaccines by targeted delivery to antigen presenting cells. Vaccines have proven to be one of the most effective means of preventing infection and also provide promise as a treatment for cancer. However, the range of effective technologies that make possible the delivery of vaccines that can protect against a broad range of infections is limited. DNA based vaccines are attractive because they are relatively easy to produce against a wide range of infections. However, DNA vaccines often provide poor protection against infections. This project will explore a unique technology developed in Australia and that will greatly improve the effectiveness of DNA vaccines against a broad range of diseases. Read moreRead less