12.2.2004

MICMAN focus on microbe-human interaction

Researchers are currently in the process of developing a vaccine for Chlamydia pneumoniae, which might also prove useful in the prevention of atherosclerosis, i.e. the hardening of coronary arteries. Supervised by Docent Mirja Puolakkainen, the project is part of the Academy of Finland research programme Microbes and Man (MICMAN).

At the same time, researchers are also looking into ways of diagnosing chronic Chlamydia
pneumoniae infection. According to Research Professor Maija Leinonen, the results are very
promising. Up until now the research results have varied widely in different parts of the world because Chlamydia pneumoniae is extremely hard to detect.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory tract infection. It is liable to develop into a chronic condition, and indeed more than one-third of the middle-aged and elderly population show signs of chronic infection. The association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and atherosclerosis was detected by Maija Leinonen and Professor Pekka Saikku more than ten years ago.

The aim of the ongoing research is to gain a deeper understanding of the interaction between Chlamydia pneumoniae and its hosts cells as well as of the underlying disease-causing mechanisms. The findings will help to step up to the prevention of chlamydia of the lungs and to develop more effective treatments.

Scheduled to run for three years, the MICMAN research programme was launched in 2003 as a joint Finnish-Swedish effort. Its aim is to produce more information on the interaction  between host and microbe and to use this information for purposes of maintaining human health as well as for the prevention and treatment of diseases.

For further details, please contact
- Docent Mirja Puolakkainen, University of Helsinki Haartman Institute, tel. +358 50 5512 006,
mirja.puolakkainen@helsinki.fi
- Professor Pekka Saikku, Department of Microbiology, University of Oulu, tel. +358 50 036
572, pekka.saikku@oulu.fi
- Research Professor Maija Leinonen, National Public Health Institute, Oulu, tel. +358 50 5280
284, maija.leinonen@ktl.fi

For information on the research programme more generally, contact
- Programme coordinator Soile Juuti, tel. +358 17 201 163, soile.juuti@ktl.fi

Academy of Finland Communications
Leena Vähäkylä, tel. +358 9 7748 8327, leena.vahakyla@aka.fi

BACK