Clock control of inflammation in the lung

Circadian rhythms dominate virtually all aspects of human physiology. It is now established that disruption of the circadian clock has a profound impact on inflammation in both humans and in animal models. During this award, Professors Loudon and Ray intend to address the fundamental question of how the clock controls host defence. To do this, they will focus on pulmonary inflammation and specifically aim to elucidate how time-keeping and inflammatory cells communicate to shape pulmonary immune response, how the molecular clocks control pro- and anti-inflammatory signalling within the lung, and how clock regulation of epigenetic structure mediates inflammatory set point. The aim of this award is to further our understanding of how local tissue environment and the immune system interact to dictate the magnitude, direction and responsiveness to treatment at sites of immune challenge.