Grant: Operating Grant

Lung infection by influenza virus is responsible for annual seasonal infection that affects several million people in the world, especially among elderlies, children and patients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases such as asthma. The severe illnesses caused by influenza virus have now become a serious problem. To date, vaccines and drugs are still insufficient to control influenza virus infection and new approaches are thus urgently needed to treat and even to prevent such infections. Effective therapies that may suppress both viral infection and excessive lung inflammation in these patients represent an appealing strategy. NR4A1 is a member of a class of intracellular proteins known to contribute to regulate inflammation in various inflammatory diseases. We thus propose to evaluate the capacity of NR4A1 to control influenza infection and to identify the cell populations associated with NR4A1 activation and involved in viral clearance. The potential of NR4A1 to restore pulmonary functions is also considered. Based on our preliminary studies, we are confident to demonstrate that targeting NR4A1 may be beneficial to rapidly suppress influenza virus infection and consequently to reduce excessive lung inflammation. This project should contribute to shed light on new avenues in developing promising therapies against influenza virus.