How pathogenic cytosol-dwelling bacteria escape from autophagy
Year of award: 2014
Grantholders
Dr Felix Randow
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Project summary
Dr Randow is interested in how individual cells defend themselves against infection. Bacteria that colonise the host cytosol encounter specific anti-microbial defences, and therefore have developed specific adaptations to antagonise these cell defences. Over the last few years autophagy has emerged as a major defence system for the host cytosol. To improve our understanding of anti-bacterial autophagy and to develop novel strategies against professional cytosol-dwelling bacterial pathogens, Dr Randow will investigate how cytosol-dwelling bacteria escape from autophagy, whether we can artificially enforce anti-bacterial autophagy against professional cytosol-dwellers, and which additional cell-autonomous defences are deployed in activated cells to detect and destroy professional cytosol-dwelling bacteria. This research will be crucial for future attempts to manipulate pathogen recognition and vaccine-mediated immunity.