A Novel Class Of Negative Regulators Of Interleukin-6 Signalling
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$626,950.00
Summary
Cytokines are protein messengers that activate the immune system to fight infections. When they are too active they cause inflammation and autoimmune diseases so their activity needs to be tightly controlled. We have discovered a new family of regulators (the MARCH proteins) that inhibit cytokine activity by routing cytokine receptors for destruction. We aim to understand how this process works in detail and the role of MARCH proteins in vivo in ameliorating autoimmune diseases.
Regulation Of Interleukin-1? Activation In Inflammatory Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$624,429.00
Summary
IL-1? protein is required to combat infection but also contributes to inflammatory diseases, such as Rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. Understanding how IL-1? is produced is therefore critical to the development of better therapeutics for these conditions. We have identified a new pathway involving the protein RIP3 that can cause IL-1? activation. This project will examine how this pathway is molecularly regulated and determine its importance in inflammatory disease models.