Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) – understanding a complex disease from a detailed immunological and virological standpoint

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).

TBEV-infection can result in severe pathological consequences with meningitis and encephalitis, with a high proportion of long-lasting sequelae. There is no treatment for TBE.

The underlying mechanisms for the development of encephalitis in TBE remain undefined, and the data on the immune response to TBEV is surprisingly scarce.The goal of this project is to generate a better understanding of the details in the pathogenesis in TBE.

Specific aims are to perform a broad immune phenotypical characterization of the cellular immune players in TBE in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, to perform in vitro studies on antigen presentation and cell migration in a BBB model during TBEV-infection, and identify human host cell factors important for TBEV infection and replication, using methodology such as advanced flow cytometry, biochemical and immunological technologies and cell- and molecular methods, including a BSL3-lab, in patient cohorts.

For the purposed projects, we have access to relevant clinical material.

The projects will be run in parallel, and will involve 2 PhD-students, 1 postdoc and a number of collaborators.By these studies we hope to unfold mechanisms behind TBE pathogenesis and identify novel vaccine strategies and specific targets for viral and immunomodulatory therapies. Importantly, our work flow and methodology may also be used for future emerging viral infections.