The Oxenius Lab - Infection Immunology

Infectious diseases, caused by various microorganisms, have major medical, social and economic consequences and are together with cardiovascular diseases the number one cause of death worldwide. Moreover, diseases of previously unknown etiology are being recognized as having infectious origins and new infectious agents are emerging regularly (such as HIV, SARS, West Nile Virus, etc.). The past decades have seen a revolution in our ability to diagnose and understand infectious diseases. The sequencing of the human genome and the genomes of many important pathogenic microorganisms has opened up exciting new possibilities to elucidate host–pathogen interactions in more detail at the molecular, the cellular and also at the level of the whole organism. Recently developed technologies such as ex vivo multiparameter analysis (e.g. flow cytometry, imaging, genomics and proteomics), gene technology (e.g. recombinant pathogens, genetically modified hosts) and large scale in vivo screening (e.g. RNAi) are powerful tools in our quest to further increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious diseases. Unraveling the highly complex host-pathogen interactions by basic microbiological and immunological research continues to be a serious and rewarding scientific challenge paving the way for the development of future therapies and vaccines. These new research avenues, which allow the acquisition of a wealth of information, require the integration and evaluation of this information in relevant and well defined in vivo experimental systems (e.g. murine models of infectious diseases) as well as in translational approaches to human disease. These latter points are the common theme of the ongoing research in the laboratory of Annette Oxenius. In order to unravel general biological principles operating in immune responses to infections, different infectious disease models are investigated. Furthermore, intricate relationships between host and pathogen might be selectively governed by the particular biology of a pathogen, which becomes apparent in comparative in detail analyses of various infectious agents.

The research focuses on the in vivo analysis of host-pathogen interactions for a variety of relevant pathogens. The main research goal is the elucidation of molecular, cellular and systemic mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune defense against acute and persistent viral or bacterial infections in relation to the dynamics of the infecting pathogen. A detailed understanding of host pathogen interactions not only unravels fascinating and important biological principles but also forms the basis for the development of novel intervention strategies in human infectious diseases. Specific topics are::

• T cell responses in acute and chronic viral infections »»
• Memory T cells »»
• Role of T helper cells in acute and chronic infections »»
• HIV infection »»
• Legionella pneumophila (Lpn) infection »»