WEHI Wednesday Seminar: Peripheral Neuroimmune Interactions in Viral Infection and Cancer

Professor Scott Mueller, an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Dame Kate Campbell Fellow, is scheduled to present a WEHI Wednesday Seminar. The seminar is titled "Peripheral sympathetic neuroimmune interactions in viral infection and cancer."

About the Speaker

Professor Mueller leads the immune imaging laboratory within the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of Melbourne and The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

His laboratory's work focuses on analyzing the interface between tissues and the immune system to identify targets for vaccine design and therapeutics.

Seminar Overview

The upcoming seminar will address the growing understanding of the nervous system's role in regulating immune responses and its influence on disease outcomes in infectious diseases and cancer.

Current research from the Mueller laboratory explores the bi-directional communication occurring between the peripheral nervous system, immune cells, and stromal cells within organs and tumors.

Key Research Insights

Regulating Immune Responses in Infection

Recent findings from the Mueller laboratory include the identification of a regulatory mechanism, or rheostat, that acts on peripheral sympathetic neurons. This mechanism serves to reduce their functional capacity in the spleen during pathogen infection. This discovery offers insights that could be utilized to optimize immune responses.

SNS Influence in Cancer

Additionally, research using tumor models and chemogenetic DREADD mice has uncovered a significant mechanism. It reveals how the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) hinders leukocyte migration in tissues, impairs T cell responses, and promotes pro-tumorigenic myeloid cell responses. This work suggests potential treatment strategies aimed at counteracting systemic stress pathways to improve disease outcomes.

Event Details

The seminar will be held at Davis Auditorium and will feature a Q&A session.

Remote participation is available via SLIDO using the code #WEHIWednesday.