Nonself recognition by the innate immune system
We are trying to understand what mechanisms are employed by our innate immune system to distinguish self from nonself. Central to this complex task is a repertoire of so-called pattern recognition receptors that have evolved to detect the presence of microorganisms, but also endogenous danger or stress signals. A special focus of our current work is cytosolic nucleic acid recognition and the activation and regulation of inflammasome pathways.
Keywords
Innate immunity / nucleic acid sensing / RNA / secondary messengers / inflammasome