Name:
Carmen Rietdijk
Beta-faculty, pharmacology
Function:
PhD-student
E-mail: C.D.Rietdijk@uu.nl
Supervisor:
Richard van Wezel, Johan Garssen, Mechiel Korte, Aletta Kraneveld
Title research:
The expression and function of Toll-like receptors on neurons
Summary research:
Determining the presence and functionality of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on primary neurons and cell lines of the central and peripheral nervous systems. TLRs are part of the innate immune system and sense the presence of bacterial, viral, fungal and endogenous ligands. So far 10 human TLRs have been identified. Activation of TLRs usually initiates an immune response and activation of the adaptive immune system. Neurons are able to express several functional Toll-like receptors and they are able to launch an immune response when exposed to TLR ligands. Neuronal TLRs could be important in neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory and infectious diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems. This project aims to use primary adult murine and rat neurons as well as cell lines to further determine the expression and function of these receptors.