SBlogI Entrevista

Shizuo Akira

Uberlândia - Caros, segue abaixo a entrevista que realizei com o Dr. Shizuo Akira na semana passada, por e-mail. Para aqueles que não o conhecem, Dr. Akira é uma das referências mundiais em estudos sobre imunidade inata. Espero que aproveitem...

SBlogI - As far as I could count, you have published over 50-60 paper/year regularly... how can you manage this? Is your lab crowded with post-docs or is your collaborative network very active?

Dr. Akira - Although my lab is active, the numbers of published papers are a sum of our original papers and other collaborative works.

SBlogI - From the late 1990’s until today, the Immunology field has lived in a ‘Pattern Recognition Receptor era’. Toll-like receptors was, and still is, the main focus of research in innate immunity. Then, Nod-like receptors and the Inflammasome complex were described and shed new light into PAMP recognition in the cytosolic compartment. Now RIG-like receptors, C-type lectin receptors and intracellular kinases are in the spotlight... in your opinion, what comes next?

Dr. Akira - This is a very difficult question. Identification of cytoplasmic DNA receptor inducing type I interferon will clarify the mechanism how DNA viruses and some intracellular bacteria are recognized by innate immunity. Further, the mechanism how inflammatory responses are controlled in innate immune cells is not well understood. These topics are important to be solved. There may be unexpected findings coming out in the future like innate immunity. I cannot predict it.

SBlogI - Your group, along with other researchers, have recently investigated macrophage polarization between M1 and M2 phenotypes. In addition, the scientific literature in the last years presented to us the description of a great number of different TCD4+ subsets. Do you believe that those cell subsets are really stable in vivo or does the presence of the different phenotypes depend uniquely on the inflammatory environment? In a general manner, how plastic (or stable) are immune cells?

Dr. Akira - Now many T cell researchers believe T cells are plastic to some extent depending on the conditions. Although T cell subsets are extensively studied, the polarization and plasticity of macrophages are less understood. Now macrophages are roughly divided into M1 and M2 macrophages, these M1 and M2 cells include various different cell subsets and needs to be worked to clarify macrophage subsets before discussing its plasticity.

SBlogI - Anyone that reads your work quickly apprehends that the use of genetically modified animals, along with cutting-edge equipments and reagents, is fundamental for the description of new immunological mechanisms. How far can an immunologist go without those tools?

Dr. Akira - It is no doubt that appropriate animal models and new technologies help accelerate the research. However, a totally new finding could come out without such techniques if you are lucky.

SBlogI - I know that you have already been to Brazil and also have some Brazilian collaborators. Give us your critical view of the Immunology research that is performed here.

Dr. Akira - The immunology research and infectious disease research, though fell apart long time ago, are recently getting closer due to development of innate immunity research. Brazil is good to learn parasite infectious diseases, and I know Brazilian prestigious immunologists working on anti-parasite immunity. I think Brazilian immunology is now emerging, and will become one of important society in the immunology research fields.

SBlogI - What about the country itself... have you had the opportunity to visit Brazil around? Did any of your previous hosts take you to a nice sunny beach?

Dr. Akira - I visited Salvador to attend a Toll meeting. That is a very interesting city with mixed culture, and I enjoyed staying in Brazil very much.

SBlogI - Please, leave a final message to the young Brazilian scientists that wish

to pursue research in Immunology.

Dr. Akira - Immunology is one of most rapidly progressing research fields. However, we still cannot eradicate various infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis AIDS and so on, in part because difficulty in developing vaccines. I think novel ideas are required for understanding the immune system by incorporating knowledge in different immunological fields. And I encourage young immunologists to be interdisciplinary and international.

Abraços, Tiago.