Skip to main content

Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf

Member, Steering-Committee Member

Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology

Medical Faculty, University of Bonn University Hospital of Bonn Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25 53127 Bonn

achim.hoerauf@ukbonn.de

Website

Prof. Hörauf is internationally renowned for his work in Tropical Medicine, in particular for pioneering new drug treatments against filariasis (a group of neglected tropical diseases). The new treatment exploits an endosymbiosis between worms and bacterial endosymbionts called Wolbachia, which are susceptible to some classes of antibiotics. Prof. Hörauf’s group was the first to characterize a TLR2 ligand from Wolbachia and established that blindness in onchocerciasis (or ‘river blindness’) is dependent on innate immune reactions against Wolbachia. They were the first to detect regulatory T cells in humans in an infection. Modulation of host’s immune responses is another focus of Prof. Hörauf’s group, demonstrating that filarial infection and filarial antigen treatment protects against type 1 diabetes onset and improves glucose tolerance during obesity. Using expression quantitative trait loci analysis, the role of genetic factors in modulating cellular responses (to filarial antigens) and eventually filariae-caused pathology devel-opment is currently investigated. Beyond immunology, Achim Hoerauf has preclinically developed 4 new drugs against human filariasis which are now in clinical phase 1 and 2 studies, together with DNDi and pharma partners such as Abbvie, Bayer, and Esai.

Achim Hörauf

Download biosketch

Recent publications

  • Adherence to Hygiene Protocols and Doxycycline Therapy in Ameliorating Lymphatic Filariasis Morbidity in an Endemic Area Post-Interruption of Disease Transmission in Ghana.

    The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

    Authors: Linda Batsa Debrah, Ute Klarmann-Schulz, Jubin Osei-Mensah, Janina M Kuehlwein, Yusif Mubarik, Jennifer Nadal, Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng, Arcangelo Ricchiuto, Vera Serwaa Opoku, Sarah M Sullivan, Derrick Adu Mensah, John Horton, Abu Abudu Rahamani, Philip J Budge, Stephen Gbedema, Patricia Jebett Korir, John Opoku, Kenneth Pfarr, Derrick Boateng Kontoh, Angelika Kellings, Charles Gyasi, Michael Agyemang Obeng, Barbara Gruetzmacher, Fatima Amponsah Fordjour, Inge Kroidl, Sacha Horn, Eunice Kyaakyile Kuutiero, Caroline Wauschkuhn, Abdallah Ngenya, Charles Mackenzie, Samuel Wanji, Akili Kalinga, Eric A Ottesen, Achim Hoerauf, Alexander Yaw Debrah

  • Efficacy and Safety of Adding 6 Weeks of Doxycycline to the Essential Package of Care to Treat Filarial Lymphedema: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Trial in Southern India.

    The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

    Authors: Suma Krishnasastry, Anuja Ashok, Ammu Devidas, Sarah Sullivan, Mariana Stephens, Jayla Norman, Elianna Paljug, Andrew Deathe, Andrew Majewski, John Horton, Joseph P Shott, Ute Klarmann-Schultz, Achim Hoerauf, Eric Ottesen, Charles D Mackenzie

  • No resistance development against corallopyronin A in Wolbachia in C6/36 cell culture.

    International journal of antimicrobial agents

    Authors: Lara Vanessa Behrmann, Christine Lämmer, Andrea Schiefer, Helene Neufeld, Miriam Grosse, Marc Stadler, Gabriele Bierbaum, Achim Hoerauf, Kenneth Pfarr

All publications by Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf