I am professor of Immunobiology and head of the Animal Sciences research cluster. I am interested in host-pathogen interactions and work with zebrafish models for infection with intracellular bacterial pathogens, like Mycobacteria and Salmonella, to study mechanisms of host defence. I am also Confidential Counsellor for PhD students of the Graduate School of the Faculty of Science.

More information about Annemarie Meijer

Research

Innate immunity and infection

I study mechanisms of host defence against intracellular bacterial pathogens responsible for infectious diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid fever. The causative agents of these diseases, Mycobacteria and Salmonella, parasitize one of the major cell types of the innate immune system, the macrophage. In addition to mouse and human macrophages, we use the optically transparent and genetically accessible early life stages of the zebrafish to study macrophage defence mechanisms in a whole organism model system. With collaborators, we have also used zebrafish models to study other opportunistic pathogens, like Staphylococcus bacteria and Aspergillus fungi. Currently, the major focus is on Mycobacterium avium, which forms an increasing clinical concern due to infections in immunocompromised individuals.

Host-pathogen interaction mechanisms

Intracellular bacterial pathogens, such as Mycobacteria and Salmonella, have a remarkable ability to manipulate host signalling pathways in order to promote their survival and spreading through host tissues. We use reverse genetics approaches to study the host factors involved in combatting these persistent pathogens. We developed zebrafish models for immunodeficiency and autoinflammation by mutation or knockdown of central factors in innate immunity signalling, conserved between the zebrafish and human. We demonstrated critical roles for chemokine and cell death signalling pathways in controlling inflammation and infection. Furthermore, our research efforts are strongly concentrated on the discovery of an autophagy regulator that protects against mycobacterial infection and that forms a missing link between pathogen recognition and autophagic host defence.

Host-directed therapeutic strategies

The ultimate aim of our research on host-pathogen interactions is to identify host targets for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. There is an urgent need to advance infectious disease treatment due to increasing antibiotic resistance among many bacterial species, including Mycobacteria. Host-directed therapeutic strategies aim to modulate the immune response in order to overcome pathogen evasion strategies. Potential host targets for such strategies have emerged from our research on chemokine receptors and autophagy. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Leiden University Medical Center, we have used our zebrafish infection models to demonstrate anti-infectious activities of several host-directed drug candidates.

Publications

Activities