Philipps-University Marburg

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Immunology and Infection

Monitoring Activation of the Antiviral Pattern Recognition Receptors RIG-I And PKR By Limited Protease Digestion and Native PAGE

Michaela Weber¹, Friedemann Weber¹

¹Institute for Virology, Philipps-University Marburg

Innate defenses to virus infections are triggered by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). The two cytoplasmic PRRs RIG-I and PKR bind to viral signature RNAs, change conformation, oligomerize, and activate antiviral signaling. Methods are described which allow to conveniently monitor the conformational switching and the oligomerization of these cytoplasmic PRRs.

Immunology and Infection

Legionella pneumophila Outer Membrane Vesicles: Isolation and Analysis of Their Pro-inflammatory Potential on Macrophages

Anna Lena Jung¹, Kerstin Hoffmann¹, Christina E. Herkt¹, Christine Schulz¹, Wilhelm Bertrams¹, Bernd Schmeck^1,2,3

¹Institute for Lung Research, Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center, Philipps-University Marburg, ²German Center for Lung Research, ³Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University Medical Center Giessen and Marburg

Here, we describe the purification of Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from liquid cultures. These purified vesicles are then used for the treatment of macrophages to analyze their pro-inflammatory potential.