Biomedical Science Honours Projects, 2014
Title
Adrenergic Receptor Signaling in Influenza Infection
Supervisors
 Dr Phil Stumbles (School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, MU)
 Prof. Peter Drummond (School of Psychology and Exercise Sciences, MU)
 Dr Deborah Strickland (Telethon Institute for Child Health Research)
Background and Aims
Influenza virus causes a serious inflammatory response in lung tissues that often
persists long after the virus has been cleared, which can be damaging to lung function.
A variety of mechanisms have been proposed for the resolution of inflammation in the
lungs, but not all are well understood. An adrenergic receptor process has been
suggested to regulate inflammation in a variety of diseases, but again the mechanisms
are not well understood. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possible
involvement of adrenergic receptors (AdR) in a mouse model of H1N1 influenza virus
infection.
In particular, the Aims are to:
1. Investigate baseline alpha adrenergic receptor (AdR) expression in normal
mouse respiratory tissues using immunohistochemistry or molecular techniques
as appropriate
2. Determine whether AdR expression changes after exposure to influenza or
other inflammatory stimuli as appropriate
3. Determine whether the production of inflammatory mediators changes in in the
respiratory tract in the presence of adrenergic agonists and/or antagonists (time
permitting)
Techniques to be used
 Viral culture and mouse inoculations
 Respiratory tissue isolations (trachea, lungs, lymph nodes)
 RNA isolation and quantitative/semi-quantitative PCR
 Confocal microscopy (as required)
 Flow cytometry (as required)
This project will help to determine if AdR are a potential new target for the treatment of
respiratory inflammatory disorders including viral infections and asthma.
For expressions of interest, please contact:
Dr Phil Stumbles (p.stumbles@murdoch.edu.au) or
Prof. Peter Drummond (p.drummond@murdoch.edu.au)