CD4+ T Cell-independent Immunity Against Salmonellae
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,226.00
Summary
Salmonella typhimurium is an important pathogen in both developed and developing countries where it causes significant HIV-linked morbidity. There is a pressing need to understand how immunity might be established against this organism that will function when the patient is immunocompromised either through age or through a comorbidity like HIV.
The Generation, Fate And Functional Potential Of Recent Thymic Emigrants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,856.00
Summary
A particular kind of white blood cell, called a T lymphocyte, is responsible for controlling our immune responses to foreign invaders. These cells develop in the thymus, where they learn to distinguish between foreign invaders and self tissue, before emigrating to other organs. The regulation of this process is important to maintain a pool of T lymphocytes in the body. It is important that T lymphocytes do not respond against self tissue, as this can lead to a Oself destructO disease called auto ....A particular kind of white blood cell, called a T lymphocyte, is responsible for controlling our immune responses to foreign invaders. These cells develop in the thymus, where they learn to distinguish between foreign invaders and self tissue, before emigrating to other organs. The regulation of this process is important to maintain a pool of T lymphocytes in the body. It is important that T lymphocytes do not respond against self tissue, as this can lead to a Oself destructO disease called autoimmunity. Since these developing T lymphocytes will not see all kinds of self tissue while in the thymus, we propose that their education to prevent self-tissue reactivity may continue for some time after they leave the thymus.Read moreRead less
Novel Therapeutic Strategy Against Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative Bacteria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,823.00
Summary
In the past two decades, there has been a marked decline in discovery and development of new antibiotics while there has been a remarkable increase in resistance to the currently available antibiotics. The growth in the number of resistant bacteria and lack of antibiotics available for treatment is very significant with gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Colistin, an old antibiotic that has been used little over the l ....In the past two decades, there has been a marked decline in discovery and development of new antibiotics while there has been a remarkable increase in resistance to the currently available antibiotics. The growth in the number of resistant bacteria and lack of antibiotics available for treatment is very significant with gram-negative bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Colistin, an old antibiotic that has been used little over the last 40-50 years, has been 'taken off the shelf' and is now being used as a last line of defence to treat people with infections caused by these bacteria. Clearly, doctors and their infected patients will be in an even more precarious position than currently exists if resistance to colistin increases. We have discovered a novel therapeutic strategy that is able to reverse colistin resistance in P. aeruginosa. The studies proposed in this project will investigate this novel strategy across a range of multidrug-resistant bacteria and provide the information essential for rational use in patients. We propose that such a novel therapeutic strategy will provide a powerful weapon for the war on these 'superbugs'.Read moreRead less