
© A. van Krüchten
Influenza viruses are barrier breaking pathogens that exploit cellular pathways to promote their replication. We have identified the Raf/MEK/ERK MAPK pathway to play a crucial role in virus replication and showed that this dependency could be used for a novel anti-influenza approach using MEK inhibitors. In the new funding period, we will not only further study the role of the pathway in ERK-mediated vRNP nuclear export but also explore a newly identified contribution of immunomodulatory activity of MEK inhibitors to prevent virus and even super-infecting bacteria from breaking the immune barrier against infections.
Research area: Molecular virology, signalling
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Stephan Ludwig
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Christina Ehrhardt (07/2016 - 06/2020)
Dr. Yvonne Börgeling (07/2020 - 06/2024)
Funding period: July 2012 - June 2024
Original articles