Project

Study of RIPK1 involvement and regulation in inflammatory and infectious diseases

Code
3G044518
Duration
01 January 2018 → 31 December 2021
Funding
Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
Research disciplines
No data available
Keywords
infectious disease inflammatory disease
 
Project description

Although crucial for the protection of the human body against various insults, inflammation needs

to be tightly regulated to avoid the pathological consequences resulting from an

insufficient/excessive or chronic inflammatory response. Inflammation and cell death are

interconnected cellular processes directly influencing each other. RIPK1 emerged as an essential

signalling node downstream of several immune receptors, where it functions as an adaptor

molecule that controls gene activation and as a kinase promoting cell death. The molecular

mechanism regulating the switch from “ro-survival”RIPK1 to “ro-death”RIPK1 is currently

unknown. In addition, the involvement of RIPK1 kinase-dependent death in inflammatory and

infectious diseases is currently unclear. This research proposal aims at gaining a better

understanding of RIPK1 biology by defining the molecular nature of the RIPK1 cell death checkpoint

and by revealing its physiological relevance in models of infection and disease. The research

proposal integrates studies performed at the biochemical, cellular and organism levels. We believe

that the knowledge acquired on RIPK1 with this research proposal will help identifying disorders in

which RIPK1 kinase inhibitors may provide a therapeutic advantage.