In vivo analysis of temporal and spatial disease progression and immune cell interaction during invasive Aspergillus fumigatus infection (A03)

• Subject Area: Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology ; Biophysics ; Hematology, Oncology ; Immunology ; Clinical Infectiology and Tropical Medicine ; Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 210879364

Project A3 uses advanced optical imaging technologies in single cell analyses. These are applied to investigate the spatiotemporal organization of alveolar macrophages protecting the pulmonary tissue from A. fumigatus infection and how this can be therapeutically exploited. The spatiotemporal cooperation of innate immune cells with alveolar epithelial cells during A. fumigatus and L. corymbifera infection will be explored in real time using near-infrared II light-sheet fluorescence imaging (NIR-II LSFM). The therapeutic potential of cytokines, cytokine-mimetics and fusion proteins for the prevention and treatment of fungal infections will be explored.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 124: Pathogenic Fungi and their Human Host: Networks of Interaction - FungiNet
• Applicant Institution: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Andreas Beilhack; Professor Dr. Matthias Brock, until 7/2015; Professorin Dr. Katrin G. Heinze; Dr. Ulrich Terpitz, until 6/2021