Dr Alexander Hooftman
Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Research Institute:
Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute
- Contact e-mail:
- Contact number:
- Thematic Area:
Translational Immunology Studies and Therapeutics/ Vaccine Studies
Research Profile:
During his PhD Alex studied the role of the metabolite itaconate in regulating various innate immune pathways in macrophages. Itaconate is an inhibitor of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and a regulator of type I interferon signalling, both of which are key inflammatory pathways in COVID-19.
COVID-19 Project: The therapeutic potential of itaconate and NLRP3 inhibition in COVID-19.
Working under the direction of Professor Luke O’Neill this project aims to evaluate the potential utility of itaconate and itaconate derivatives in blocking SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated inflammation. Antiviral properties have recently been described for itaconate derivatives such as 4-octyl itaconate (4-OI), which coupled with their established role in blocking NLRP3, provides rationale for testing these compounds in models of viral infection. Preliminary in vitro experiments will focus on establishing whether these compounds can block inflammatory readouts in human airway epithelial cell lines, before moving on to viral replication assays and potential SARS-CoV-2 in vivo models. We will also be measuring markers of NLRP3 activation in COVID-19 patient samples in order to further correlate NLRP3 inflammasome activation with disease severity.
