Oxidised phospholipids and the function of dendritic cells

The goal of the project is to analyse the role of oxidised phospholipids (ox-PL) as novel and influential regulators in the adaptive immune response. On this basis new ways of strengthening the immune system could be established.

The human body has an innate and an adaptive immune system. Previous studies have shown that certain ox-PL exert a strong inhibiting effect on innate immune mechanisms. In this project the influence of ox-PL on mechanisms of the specific (adaptive) immune response is to be analysed. For this purpose the effect of ox-PL on dendritic cells, which have a key function in the adaptive immune response, will be studied in order to develop new ways of targeted immune modulation.