Pharmacological modulation of molecular and cellular components of innate immunity as a strategy against virus infections.

Insights into molecular and cellular mechanisms of innate immunity are critical to understand viral pathogenesis and immunopathology. Moreover, new concepts of pharmacological modulation of antiviral immunity are emerging and might be exploited for new therapy and vaccine strategies. COAM (chlorite-oxidized oxyamylose) is a polyanionic polysaccharide derivative that has been synthesized at our laboratory and has been known for many years as an antiviral agent. Our recent research efforts established COAM as an antiviral immunomodulator. In particular, COAM is able to induce the chemotaxis of antiviral leukocytes, especially neutrophil granulocytes. Moreover, our results that COAM is able to induce and bind mouse granulocyte chemotactic protein 2, a potent neutrophil chemoattractant, might provide a mechanistic explanation for COAM-induced neutrophil chemotaxis in vivo. The aims of this research project are to broaden the possible mechanisms of immunomodulation bij COAM and to translate this knowledge to virus infections in particular. COAM will be implemented as a novel tool to investigate how chemokines and leukocytes can influence the (immuno)pathogenesis of viral infections.

Keywords:Immunomodulation, Immunopathology, COAM, Virus infection, Chemokines, Innate immunity, Neutrophils, Leucocytes

Disciplines:Immunology