Research 'made in NRW' presented in the state parliament
—Top researchers from North Rhine-Westphalia presented their work today, June 12, in the Citizens' Hall of the Düsseldorf State Parliament. North Rhine-Westphalia is currently the most successful state in the national excellence strategy. Of the 57 already funded clusters of excellence, 14 are based in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Novel RNA therapy is effective against highly aggressive brain tumors
—Glioblastomas are particularly aggressive brain tumors that quickly invade healthy brain tissue. Since these tumors cannot usually be completely removed surgically, the prognosis for glioblastoma patients is very poor. The standard therapy, which consists of a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, does not offer a cure. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective treatment options. Researchers at the University Medical Center Mannheim (UMM), the DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at UMM, and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) are investigating a new therapy.
New antibiotic against river blindness and lymphatic filariasis pathogens
—Prof. Achim Hoerauf, Director of the Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), and his team have succeeded in collaborating with the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy at the University of Bonn and the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, to enter into a partnership with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai for the further development of the antibiotic corallopyronin A (CorA) as a treatment for the neglected tropical diseases river blindness and lymphatic filariasis and to raise a large amount of funding.
Bonn scientists predict the connection between biomarker expression and long-term survival in patients with urothelial cancer
—PD Dr. Niklas Klümper and Prof. Michael Hölzel discovered that NECTIN4 amplifications are genomic predictors of long-term survival in patients suffering from metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC). Their findings were published in the latest edition of the “Journal of Clinical Oncology”.
—Dendritic cells play an important role in setting the course of our immune system. However, what determines their heterogeneity and functional specialization is still not sufficiently understood. An international collaboration consisting of researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the Technical University of Denmark, among others, has investigated the role of the transcription factor Bcl6 in dendritic cells in a mouse model and discovered that a subgroup is highly dependent on this protein.
—Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark, the Novo Nordisk Center for Adipocyte Signaling (SDU), the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have found a protein that is responsible for turning off brown fat activity. This new discovery could lead to a promising strategy for safely activating brown fat and tackling obesity and related health problems. The results of the study have now been published in the journal „Nature Metabolism“.
How the Immune System Learns from Harmless Particles
—Our lungs are bombarded by all manner of different particles every single day. Whilst some are perfectly safe for us, others—known as pathogens—have the potential to make us ill. The immune system trains its response whenever it encounters such a pathogen. Yet researchers at the University of Bonn have now shown that even harmless particles help to improve the immune response and have published their results in the journal “Nature Immunology.”
—Chemokines are signalling proteins that orchestrate the interaction of immune cells against pathogens and tumours. To understand this complex network, various techniques have been developed to identify chemokine-producing cells. However, it has not yet been possible to determine which cells react to these chemokines. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have developed a new class of genetically modified mice that enables the simultaneous identification of chemokine producers and sensors.
—Many kidney diseases are manifested by protein in the urine. However, until now it was not possible to determine whether the protein excretion is caused by only a few, but severely damaged, or by many moderately damaged of the millions of small kidney filters, known as glomeruli. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn, in cooperation with mathematicians from the University of Bonn, have developed a new computer method to clarify this question experimentally. The results of their work have now been published as an article in press in the kidney research journal "Kidney International".
