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Projekt Druckansicht

Die angeborene Immunität: Einfluss von Versican, einem Bestandteil der Extrazellulären Matrix, auf Lungeninfektionen

Antragsteller Dr. Gernot Kaber
Fachliche Zuordnung Pneumologie,Thoraxchirurgie
Förderung Förderung von 2011 bis 2015
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 200105746
 
Erstellungsjahr 2015

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

Lung infections place a higher burden on public health than other major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, coronary heart disease, and strokes. And still little is known about the role of the innate immune system, which is the body’s first line of defense against lung infection and its interaction with the extracellular matrix (ECM). Only recently has it been recognized that components of the ECM participate in and partially control events that drive the inflammatory response in many different diseases. Evidence is mounting to indicate that the ECM molecule versican is a central player in inflammation in a number of diseases. Our central hypothesis was that specialized ECMs containing versican are formed during viral- or allergen-induced lung inflammation. We further hypothesized, that this matrix specifically interacts with and provides temporal and spatial cues for leukocytes as they enter the lung impacting their phenotype and providing fine-tuned control of the inflammatory response. Supporting our hypothesis, we have discovered that versican accumulates in the lung tissue, when lungs are exposed to allergens such as cockroach antigen (CRA), bacteria such as E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. Furthermore, our studies indicate that the synthesis and accumulation of versican is highly regulated and produced by at least two different lung cell populations, interstitial fibroblasts and macrophages when the cells are exposed to these inflammatory agonists. We now hypothesize that interfering with this versican-enriched ECM will dampen the inflammatory response and delay lung fibrosis. The development of mouse models in which the versican gene has been selectively deleted will be crucial to test whether versican plays a causative or responsive role in the development of lung inflammation. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate versican transcription in lungs will likely provide targets for novel therapeutic interventions in lung diseases.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

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