Molecular and cellular dynamics of nucleic acid-driven immune responses and immunopathology (B17)

• Subject Area: Immunology
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 369799452

The cGAS/STING pathway senses viral DNA to activate antiviral immunity, but can also be triggered by endogenous DNA. Pathogenic activation can ensue from defects of cytosolic DNA disposal or from mutations that constitutively switch on pathway components, resulting in severe disease. The clinical conditions, ‘interferonopathies’, are result of a poorly understood dynamic response of the immune system reflecting a balance between activation and complex counter-regulation. We use advanced in vivo models to dissect activating and counter-regulatory principles, and study alterations of population dynamics contributing to the disease phenotype in order to identify strategies for intervention.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 237: Nucleic Acid Immunity
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Axel Roers