—The research group led by Dr. Laura Surace at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology at the University Hospital Bonn has received funding from the German Cancer Aid through the Max Eder Junior Research Group Program. The program was established to specifically support the research of up-and-coming young oncologists. This is intended to benefit not only the field of oncology, but also the training of the researchers. Surace joins a group of around 30 young scientists who are being supported throughout Germany.
—Immunologist Tim Rollenske was recently recruited to the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Experimental Immunology at the University Hospital Bonn. As head of the newly formed research group "Mucosal Immunology", he has been appointed as a member of ImmunoSensation² from March 2023. We met Tim Rollenske to talk about his research interests and future perspectives at the Cluster of Excellence, here in Bonn.
—For more than 50 years, it has been suspected that adipocytes permanently remodel the lipids stored in them. ImmunoSensation² member Christoph Thiele and his team at the University of Bonn have now for the first time demonstrated this process in cell culture. The study shows that the cells are able to quickly eliminate harmful fatty acids or alternatively refine them into more usable molecules. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Metabolism.
—Last Thursday, Dr. Inga Hochheiser from the Institute of Structural Biology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) received the Bayer Pharmaceuticals PhD Award 2023 for the best molecular biology PhD of the past year. The Bayer Pharmaceuticals Doctoral Award is presented by the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM).
Beethoven’s genome offers clues to composer’s health and family history
—Ludwig van Beethoven’s genome has been sequenced for the first time by an international team of scientists with the participation of ImmunoSensation² member Prof. Markus Nöthen at the University of Bonn, using five genetically matching locks of the well-known composer’s hair.
Loss of mitochondrial integrity induces inflammasome activation
—The recognition of pathogens and sterile damage may result in pyroptotic cell death and inflammation. This is brought about by the formation of protein complexes called inflammasomes. ImmunoSensation² speaker Prof. Eicke Latz and his team at the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from the University of Singapore, now revealed a new function for the inflammasome component NLRP10. The sensor warns of damage to the mitochondria. If it does not function properly, chronic skin diseases can result. The results have now been published in the journal Nature Immunology.
Hyper-Susceptibility to viral infections in patients with inactive TBK1
—The enzyme TBK1 is an important component of the innate immune system that plays an critical role in the defense against viruses. Upon mutation-induced loss of TBK1 function, patients show an increased susceptibility to viral infections. Strikingly, if TBK1 is not expressed at all, this clinical effect is not seen. The mechanism behind this supposed discrepancy has now been elucidated by researchers led by ImmunoSensation² member Prof. Martin Schlee of the University Hospital Bonn. The corresponding study was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.
Restoration of immune defense in chronic liver disease
—Patients suffering from chronic liver disease don't respond to vaccination and are at high risk of viral infections. In these patients, virus-specific T-cells are dysfunctional and unable to eliminate viral pathogens. A research team led by ImmunoSensation² member Prof. Zeinab Abdullah at the University Hospital Bonn, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Oxford and the Technical University Munich, has now discovered the molecular mechanism underlying the suppression of systemic T-cell immunity.
—The success of cancer treatment depends not only on the type of tumor, but also on the surrounding tissue. Tumors influence it to their advantage, promoting the growth of blood vessels or fooling incoming immune cells. Developing methods to predict the nature of the resulting tumor microenvironment is the goal of researchers from the Clusters of Excellence ImmunoSensation² and the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) led by Prof. Kevin Thurley at the University of Bonn. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the "InterpretTME" project with around 800,000 euros.
