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The laboratory of E. Andreakos seeks to understand how innate immunity, the body's natural defense against exogenous and endogenous insults, controls host protective versus host damaging inflammation. It particularly focuses on the role of innate immune disturbances in the development of respiratory diseases such as asthma and acute respiratory distress syndrome. It also investigates the involvement of innate immune pathways in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. The long-term goal is translational, aiming at identifying key regulatory knots and developing novel approaches for therapeutic intervention.

Major recent contributions of the team include:

• The discovery of lambda Interferons as a non-inflammatory class of interferons that mediate front-line antiviral protection without compromising host fitness and causing symptoms (Galani et al. Immunity 2017).
• The demonstration that pDCs drive acute exacerbations of asthma and can be used for novel prognostic and therapeutic approches (Chairakaki AD et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2017)
• The uncovering of novel anti-inflammatory and proresolving functions of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) suppressing allergic asthma (Koltsida et al. EMBO Mol Med 2013; Xirakia et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2010) and preventing the development of atherosclerosis and plaque vulnerability (Salagianni et al. Circulation 2012). 

The laboratory is receiving funding from the European Commission, national research bodies, industry and charities.