Defining the role of myosin motor proteins and their cargo adaptors in cytokine secretion

炎症是身体抵御伤害和感染的第一道防线。受到攻击的细胞会通过释放一种叫做细胞因子的化学物质来提醒免疫系统，细胞因子会激活免疫细胞，清除伤口上的细菌，治愈组织。然而，在某些条件下，身体保持高度警惕，炎症变得不受控制和慢性。人类衰老的特点是慢性、低度炎症，这种现象被称为“炎症”，这是老年人发病率和死亡率的一个非常重要的危险因素，因为大多数（如果不是全部的话）与年龄有关的疾病都有炎症发病机制。因此，控制慢性炎症和调节体内细胞因子的水平对于确保健康衰老是非常重要的。在这项研究中，我们将研究细胞中控制细胞因子释放的机制。生物细胞就像一个微型工厂，里面有大量专用的蛋白质机器。这些机器由化学能驱动，执行各种不同的任务。例如，高度专门化的运动蛋白可以在由ATP产生的化学能提供动力的情况下，沿着丝轨道一步一步地移动。这些运动蛋白在不同地点之间运送货物，就像火车沿着铁路网行驶到特定的目的地一样。这些纳米级马达还能将细胞因子从它们的生产位点运送到细胞表面，并在那里释放出来。因此，我们的主要目标是确定调节这些马达的药物，从而改变细胞因子的运输和释放。

Inflammation is the body's first line of defense to injury and infection. Cells under attack alert the immune system through the release of chemicals,called cytokines, which activate immune cells to clear the wound from bacteria and heal the tissue. However, under certain conditions the body stays on high alert and the inflammation becomes uncontrolled and chronic. Human aging is characterized by a chronic, low-grade inflammation, and this phenomenon has been termed as "inflammaging", which is a highly significant risk factor for both morbidity and mortality in elderly people, as most if not all age-related diseases share an inflammatory pathogenesis. Thus it is very important to control chronic inflammation and regulate the level of cytokines in our body to ensure healthy ageing. In this study we will investigate the machinery in cells that controls the release of cytokines. The biological cell resembles a miniature factory containing a vast collection of dedicated protein machines. These machines are driven by chemical energy and perform a huge variety of different tasks. For example highly specialysed motor proteins can translocate along filament tracks in a step-by-step motion powered by chemical energy derived from ATP. These motor proteins move cargo between different locations rather like a train running along a railway network to their specific destinations. These nanoscale motors also transport cytokines from their production sites to the cell surface, where they are released. Thus our major aim is to identify drugs that regulate these motors and thereby modify transport and release of cellular cytokines.