Sun Lab
Principal Investigator: Jingru Sun
Institution: Washington State University (Pullman, WA)
Primary Subfield: Neuroscience
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Project Summary Although the integration of neurobiology into immunological research has just begun, it has already profoundly improved our understanding of immunology. By using the Caenorhabditis elegans model system, we have identified three specific neuro-immune regulatory circuits that are mediated by the G protein-coupled receptors OCTR-1, NPR-8, and NMUR-1, respectively. Our studies and others indicate that there could be a predetermined setpoint for internal immunity, like the setpoint for the human heart rate, and that the nervous system regulates immune responses to internal or external environmental changes and restores immune homeostasis by bringing immunity back to the setpoint. Considering this “setpoint for immune homeostasis” theory, we plan to investigate how the nervous system and immune system interact to achieve the resolution of infection and the specificity of innate immunity, two important but poorly understood issues in immunology. Previously, we have characterized the OCTR-1-dependent neuro-immune regulatory circuit in great detail and have revealed that NMUR-1 mediates the specificity of C. elegans innate immunity. Here, we propose studies to dissect the mo…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R35GM124678-10: Neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regulation of innate immunity (2026)
- 5R35GM124678-09: Neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regulation of innate immunity (2025)
- 5R35GM124678-08: Neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regulation of innate immunity (2024)
- 3R35GM124678-07S1: Neuronal and molecular mechanisms underlying neural regulation of innate immunity (2024)
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