2. What happens when multiple pathogens strike at once?
Co-infection with multiple pathogens is more frequent than infection with one alone. Globally, HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria target many people living in the same areas. Here in Scotland, chronic inflammatory diseases share much of the biology of co-infections. Chronic asthma is a risk-factor for severe disease during influenza infection, for example, and viral infections may also trigger severe asthma attacks.
Several of our projects are teasing out the mechanisms underlying the ability of one immune response to affect another. We have shown that a chronic worm infection compromises the body’s ability to defend itself against Salmonella, a bacterial pathogen that also invades through the gut. We have mapped three way interactions between the worm, the bacterium and cells of the gut. These interactions are mediated by cytokines, metabolites and more. We are now investigating co-infections of the gut and the lung, asking how best to manipulate the immune regulators to determine the best outcome for the host.
Several of our projects are teasing out the mechanisms underlying the ability of one immune response to affect another. We have shown that a chronic worm infection compromises the body’s ability to defend itself against Salmonella, a bacterial pathogen that also invades through the gut. We have mapped three way interactions between the worm, the bacterium and cells of the gut. These interactions are mediated by cytokines, metabolites and more. We are now investigating co-infections of the gut and the lung, asking how best to manipulate the immune regulators to determine the best outcome for the host.