Natural Anti-inflammatory Proteins: Chemokine Inhibition by Tick Evasins

A central feature of inflammatory diseases is the migration of white blood cells into the affected tissues. This is controlled by a group of proteins called chemokines. Therefore, blocking the activity of chemokines is a potential approach to treating inflammatory diseases. Ticks, which live on mammalian hosts, produce proteins called evasins, which interact with host chemokines and thereby prevent inflammatory responses, allowing the ticks to live longer on their hosts. We have discovered a large number of new evasin proteins and shown that they bind and inhibit human chemokines, suggesting they have enormous potential as chemokine-targeted anti-inflammatory agents. This research project focuses on characterising the interactions of evasins with chemokines. Our results will enable the development of evasin-like proteins that target specific groups of chemokines in inflammatory disease therapy. Training Opportunities: positions are available for PhD, Honours and undergraduate research students. Students involved in this project will develop high-level critical thinking, project planning and communication skills as well as a variety of technical skills in biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology and bioinformatics.