Award details

Studentship: Characterisation of bovine myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cell functions in response to viral infections

Reference	BBS/E/I/00001934
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Julian Seago
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Bryan Charleston, Dr Elizabeth Reid
Institution	The Pirbright Institute
Department	The Pirbright Institute Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	49,410
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/10/2013
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	41 months

Abstract

IAH Studentship: Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial for the initiation of antiviral immunity. As sentinels of the immune system, DCs capture viral antigens and present them to naive T cells, eliciting immunity. Two distinct pathways are known for the presentation of antigenic peptides on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Exogenous antigens are processed and loaded on MHC II molecules to activate CD4+ T cells. In contrast, endogenous antigens are presented by MHC I molecules and activate cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. Additionally, some forms of exogenous antigens can gain access to the MHC I presentation pathway. This process, known as cross-presentation, is crucial in the initiation of antiviral immunity when DCs are not targeted directly by viruses or when an infecting virus compromises DC function. Two major DC subsets exist, myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs). mDCs are more efficient in priming T-cell responses, while pDCs are the most potent producers of type I interferons (IFN-a/ß) upon viral infection. We have developed methods to study mDCs and pDCs from cattle, indeed we were the first group to carry out detailed phenotypic and functional characterization of bovine mDCs and pDCs. Through these studies we have identified striking differences in how mDC and pDC interact with viral pathogens.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Animal Health, Immunology, Microbiology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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