Viral Immunology

Professor Peter Openshaw, Head of Group

The Viral Immunology group works primarily on respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the major single cause of infantile hospitalization in the Western world. Natural infection causes only weak immunity to re-infection. There is no vaccine, and experimental vaccines have a history of sometimes enhancing disease severity. The reasons for this are complex but include failure to induce good quality antibody and strong induction of disease-causing T cells. In experimental models, specific viral proteins and specific T cell subsets have been shown to be associated with distinct types of disease: CD8 (cytotoxic) T cells cause 'shock lung' (and neutrophil efflux into the lung), while Th2 cells may sometimes cause eosinophilic bronchiolitis. Our current focus is on innate immunity (type 1 interferons, NK cells and macrophages), the regulation of immune responses and mechanisms of delayed effects of viral infection.

In addition the group now has a major focus on clinical studies of influenza. It is the coordinating centre for the Mechanisms of Severe Influenza Consortium (MOSAIC), a national study of the viral and immunological processes that underlie the pathogenesis of H1N1/09 influenza.