Role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in Aspergillus infection and granulomatous inflammation in CGD Dr Janine Riechenbach, Division of Immunology/Haematology/BMT, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland, Ph.D. Studentships £53,034 over two years.
This two year project at the Children's Hospital in Zurich will fund a Ph.D. studentship on the role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) in fighting Aspergillus infections.
Dr Janine Reichenbach, the lead researcher on the project explains: 'Just like their name, these are net-like structures that trap and bind microorganisms and provde a high local concentration of anti-microbials to efficiently kill germs. We know that people with CGD can't make NETs effectively and we think this is due to their cells not being able to produce a respiratory burst through the oxidase enzyme that is defective in CGD. 'We think this inability to form NETs might explain the vulnerability of people with CGD to Aspergillus infections', continued Dr Reichenbach. 'We want to test if the neutrophils can kill by studying neutrophils from patients with X-linked CGD, autosomal CGD, as well as asymptomatic X-CGD carriers with variable percentages of oxidase positive cells. This will give us important information on how much oxidase function we need to restore by gene therapy to give protection against Aspergillus infections'.
IMPORTANT NOTE :
The information contained on this website is intended only as a guideline, not as a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your doctor if you or your child has any CGD symptoms or concerns.
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