Primary supervisor: Prof. R. Fouchier, ErasmusMC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Title: The impact of influenza virus and Pneumovirus proteins on immunometabolism pathways
Collaborators: Prof. L. O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Dr. N. Manel, STIMUNITY, Paris, France
Early Stage Researcher: Susma Balasubramaniam
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Viral infections can remodel immunometabolic pathways, especially glycolysis, in immune cells. However, limited information is available on this interaction for viruses causing acute respiratory infections, such as the Influenza virus. ESR5 will investigate how respiratory viruses, with a focus on the Influenza virus, interact with the immune-metabolism pathways of the host and how this interaction impacts viral replication. ESR5 will use Influenza virus proteins and genomic motifs to study this interaction using reverse genetics approaches, virological techniques, proximity labelling techniques , mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation and immune assays. In addition, ESR5 will use CRISPr/Cas technology to knock down –if not lethal- expression of identified host proteins in relevant cells for more detailed studies. In collaboration with Prof. L. O’Neill at Trinity College Dublin, ESR5 will analyse how the interaction between metabolism enzymes and viral-derived proteins impacts the phenotype of innate immune cells and their overall metabolism profile. In collaboration with Dr. N. Manel at Stimunity in France, ESR5 will investigate the influence of STING stimulation on the interaction of the influenza virus with immunometabolic profiles.
