Research Projects

Pathogen infection triggers innate immune responses in the host system, leading to inflammation. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) mediate this inflammatory reaction by activating pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). TLRs and NLRs are well-characterized PRRs for bacterial PAMPS, but scavenger receptors (SRs) are gaining fame as PRRs. SRs were previously known for their scavenging roles but are now known for their role in sterile inflammation, responsible for various inflammatory diseases. Recent work has shown that scavenger receptor CD36 can recognize the gram-negative bacterial protein ligand OmpU, an outer membrane protein of Vibrio cholerae, and induce PRR function to trigger ROS generation and inflammatory responses. V. cholerae OmpU associates with another scavenger receptor LOX-1, which is originally discovered as a receptor for ox-LDL and has been shown to help in adhesion of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria to host epithelial cells. The aim of this project is to investigate the role of LOX-1 as PRR in response to bacterial PAMPs. Preliminary data suggest that LOX-1 can induce pro-inflammatory responses upon encountering V. cholerae OmpU and generate anti-inflammatory responses against V. vulnificus OmpU. The study aims to explore the details of ligand recognition, receptor cooperation, and cell signaling cascades engaged and triggered by LOX-1 in response to the bacterial ligands, V. cholerae OmpU and V. vulnificus OmpU.