Susceptibility to infection: What part does the immune system play?
Newborn babies and the elderly are particularly susceptible to bacterial and viral infection. But why? How can we predict who will suffer from an infection – and how can an infected person be optimally treated? To find answers to these questions, the RESIST team performs research converning the immune system in these vulnerable groups.
Research around the immune system of newborns is also focusing on the interaction with the developing microbiome – the entirety of the microorganisms that colonise the body. These microorganisms ‘train’ the immune system and could potentially be used to promote immune maturation after birth so as to prevent severe infections that can result from bacteria and from life-threatening viral diseases.
Interaction between the immune system and the microbiome is also being studied in relation to another medical condition affecting adults. This is spondyloarthrosis, a class of rheumatic diseases that manifest as inflammation of the musculoskeletal system, and whose onset is triggered by an infection.
RESIST investigates the influence of the gut microbiome on the potential of the patient to recover from this condition or on chronification of the disease.
In elderly people, RESIST analyses the vulnerability of seniors to flu viruses or the chicken pox virus, which causes shingles. Another research focus in RESIST, where older people are involved, is vaccination. It is still not clear why vaccination of elderly individuals is often not as effective or completely useless. The development of new vaccines and innovative therapies are of interest in several RESIST projects dealing with hepatitis.