Role of the lung microbiome during SARS-CoV-2 infections
Project leaders: Prof. Dr. Dr. Francesca Odoardi, Prof. Dr. Alexander Flügel
Key area
- Pathophysiology: immunomodulation and immune control
Who is involved?
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Francesca Odoardi (Project leader, UMG)
- Prof. Dr. Alexander Flügel (Project leader, UMG)
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Baumgärtner (TiHo)
- Prof. Dr.Asisa Volz (TiHo)
- PD Dr. Nicole de Buhr (TiHo)
What is the aim?
The lung microbiome has recently been implicated as having a significant role in regulating local immune responses; further, alterations in the composition of the lung microbiome have been observed in patients affected by SARS-CoV-2. The goal of this project is to determine whether a shift in type 1 interferon reactivity in the lung through targeted manipulation of the lung microbiome can influence the susceptibility of K18-hACE-2 mice to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The first phase of the project will initially characterize the lung microbiome of mice and further investigate its role in regulating the homeostatic immune response. Building on this, the second phase of the project will investigate the role of the lung microbiota in regulating the local immune response, including the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by neutrophil granulocytes, and its influence on the central nervous system immune response in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the animals. If the data obtained in these experiments indicate that alterations in the lung microbiome have an impact on the course of infection, a final experiment will test the use of probiotics as a pharmacological treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection.