Danger molecules from a damaged airway epithelium

Event Details

Date:

Tuesday, 06 October 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Large Seminar Room, Level 3

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/qaafi-science-seminars-2015

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Pneumovirus-induced bronchiolitis causes ~200,000 deaths per year in developing nations and is a risk factor for subsequent asthma in the developed world. Bronchiolitis is characterised by airway epithelial cell detachment and death, neutrophilic inflammation and an elevated viral burden, which may relate to impairments in the hosts anti-viral response. A defect in the production of antiviral IFNs in response to viral infection is similarly evident in subjects with asthma. By inoculating immunocompromised mice with a mouse-specific Pneumovirus, we are beginning to reveal novel pathogenic pathways associated with severe bronchiolitis, most notably the cellular sources and mechanisms of release of damage associated molecular patterns or tissue alarmins, and how these factors predispose towards the development of later asthma.