C5aR and C3aR antagonists each inhibit diet-induced
obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and adipocyte and
macrophage signaling
Junxian Lim, Abishek Iyer, Jacky Y. Suen, Vernon Seow, Robert C. Reid, Lindsay Brown, David P. Fairlie*
FASEB, 2013, 27, 822-831.
29 November 2012
Australian researchers have discovered that vitamin B metabolites produced by Salmonella bacteria can activate the immune system, a finding that could lead to new treatments for gut and lung diseases.
Dr Ligong Liu and Professor David Fairlie from The University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) joined a team led by Professor James McCluskey from the University of Melbourne and Professor Jamie Rossjohn from Monash University to study howSalmonella, a bacterium that causes food poisoning, activates certain immune cells.
“Mucosal T cells (MAIT cells) are especially important in the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs for protecting against bacterial infections,” Dr Liu said.
“Our role was to help the team identify what compounds, produced in Salmonella broths, were responsible for activating MAIT cells,” Professor David Fairlie, who led the chemistry studies at IMB, said.
“The team found that specific metabolites of Vitamin B, which are uniquely synthesised by certain bacteria, act as red flags that activate MAIT cells.”
“This is the first time that small organic compounds have been found to activate such immune cells and may lead to a new understanding of immune defence.”
The research, published today in the print edition of Nature, was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC).
For more information, or to donate to Professor Fairlie’s lab, please call 07 3346 2132 or emailadvancement@imb.uq.edu.au
The Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) is a research institute of The University of Queensland that aims to improve quality of life by advancing personalised medicine, drug discovery and biotechnology.
Congratulations to Dr Ranee Singh and Dr Praveer Gupta for each being awarded their Doctorate of Philosophy. Also congratulations to Mr Kok Wei Wong, Ms Sing Yu Ngooi and Mr Tom Fairlie for their awards of First Class Honours.
Congratulations to three Fairlie Group members – Sheila Barbero, Daniel Nielson and Vernon Seow on winning $500 each at last week’s CASB2012 Industry Affiliates Day and Division Symposium!
Total Synthesis, Structure, and Oral Absorption of a Thiazole Cyclic Peptide, Sanguinamide A
Daniel S. Nielsen , Huy N. Hoang , Rink-Jan Lohman , Frederik Diness *†, and David P. Fairlie *
Organic Letters. 2012 ASAP article
PMID: 23130644
Fairlie Group Home Page: http://fairlie.imb.uq.edu.au
MR1 presents microbial vitamin B metabolites to MAIT cells
Structure of MR1
Kjer-Nielsen L, et. al, Nature. 2012 Oct 10. doi: 10.1038/nature11605. [Epub ahead of print]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23051753
October 19, 2012
Capturing New Drugs That Selectively Modulate PAR2 Signaling Pathways
Professor David Fairlie
The University of Queensland
Inhibitors Of Class II HDACs In Inflammatory And Metabolic Disease
Dr Matthew Sweet, Professor David Fairlie, Dr Abishek Iyer
The University of Queensland
IMB Honours Day is on next week. Come along to hear about IMB honours projects for 2013
http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/imb-honours-day-to-be-held-18th-of-september
Congratulations to Group Member Anh Do for her award in the recent UQ Trailblazer awards:
Pitching Excellence Award
Ms Anh Do, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Easy subcutaneous injection for rodents
Well done Anh!
