Heikenwaelder
Fakultäten » Medizinische Fakultät » Neuropathologie, Institut für » Prof. Dr. Adriano Aguzzi » Heikenwaelder
Completed research project
| Title / Titel | Does the relative distance between FDCs and hot spots of innervation determine neuroinvasion? | ||||||||
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| Abstract (PDF, 14 KB) | |||||||||
| Summary / Zusammenfassung | Peripheral prion infection is followed by rapid prion replication in lymphoid organs and progressive neurological disease. The mechanisms of prion transfer from the immune to the nervous system are unknown. In this study we will use a mouse model that shows ablation for the chemokine receptor CXCR5. Mice lacking this chemokine receptor have follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) juxtaposed to splenic sympathetic nerve terminals. We will study if this change in relative distance will accelerate the transfer of intraperitoneally administered prions into the spinal cord. Moreover we will perform reconstitution experiments: transfer of CXCR5?/- bone marrow to wild-type recipient mice as well as reciprocal transfer to CXCR5-/- mice. Moreover, suppression of lymphotoxin signalling by LTƒÒ R will show whether peripheral prion pathogenesis is dependent on FDCs in CXCR5-/- mice. This study may elucidate if the prion neuroimmune transition occurs between FDCs and sympathetic nerves, and if relative positioning of FDCs and nerves controls the efficiency of peripheral prion infection. | ||||||||
| Keywords / Suchbegriffe | CXCR5, neuroinvasion, FDCs, germinal centers, PrPSc | ||||||||
| Project leadership and contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte |
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| Other links to external web pages | http://www.uzh.ch/pathol/neuropathologie/d/index.html | ||||||||
| Funding source(s) / Unterstützt durch |
Others Catello Family |
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| In collaboration with / In Zusammenarbeit mit |
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| Duration of Project / Projektdauer | Apr 2002 to Mar 2006 |