—T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are essential for strong antibody-mediated reactions of our immune system during infections and vaccinations. However, if they get out of control, this can cause diseases such as autoimmunity, allergies or cancer. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation at the University of Bonn investigated the underlying mechanisms of Tfh cell development in a mouse model and thus decoded their internal networking.
—The research team of Prof. Dr. Hiroki Kato at the Institute of Cardiovascular Immunology is dedicated to understanding the intricate mechanisms of immune responses in the context of viral infections and autoimmune diseases. They are particularly interested in exploring how cytoplasmic RNA sensors, like MDA5, differentiate between viral RNAs and self-RNAs, initiating type I interferons (IFNs) as anti-viral defense. However, mutations in MDA5 can lead to autoimmune diseases.
False alarm of the immune system during muscle disease
—Researchers at the University Hospitals of Dresden and Bonn of the DFG Transregio 237 and from the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn have made progress clarifying why patients with myotonic dystrophy 2 have a higher tendency to develop autoimmune diseases. Their goal is to understand the development of the disease, and their research has provided new, potential therapeutic targets. The results of the study have now been published in the renowned journal "Nature Communications".
Bonn scientists unravel the working mechanism of an important membrane transport system of pathogenic bacteria
—Researchers from the University Hospital of Bonn and the University of Bonn in collaboration with the University of York studied an important class of bacterial membrane transporters and their interaction with soluble substrate binding proteins. They found that transporter and its substrate binding protein adapt to each other rapidly and that these interactions are crucial for the working mechanism of the transporter system.
—Prof. Radosław P. Nowak has taken up the new professorship for "Immune Engineering and Drug Discovery" at the Institute of Structural Biology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB). The 36-year-old biochemist will strengthen the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn scientifically in the field of systems immunology. He also wants to actively promote the topic of "drug discovery" in Bonn on an interfaculty basis and with non-university institutes. The aim is to create a high-performance, internationally competitive center for drug discovery.
—The review publication of Yuta Tsukamoto et al is now available in the current issue of Cell Chemical Biology. Based on his latest Science paper, Yuta Tsukamoto now highlights the importance and potential of “Targeting cap1 RNA methyltransferases as an antiviral strategy”. He and his co-authors outline the game-changing options in the treatment of viral infections.
ImmunoSensation entrepreneurs successfully pitch an innovative approach to fight respiratory viruses with an immunostimulatory nasal spray
—A team of researchers in the group of Gunther Hartmann at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Bonn, and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 successfully pitched their start-up idea of Coldex, a nasal spray that provides protection from viral infections, at the Pitch4Med Contest at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the 2nd Medical Pitch Contest of the Medical Faculty, University of Bonn.
Two ERC Consolidator Grants for ImmunoSensation members
—Another big success for the University of Bonn in securing grants from the European Research Council (ERC), with three researchers receiving an ERC Consolidator Grant. Two of those grants go to ImmunoSensation2 researchers: Professor Jan Hasenauer of the LIMES Institute and Professor Florian I. Schmidt of the Institute for Innate Immunity.
Vitamin B2 Derivatives Can Alleviate Chronic Kidney Inflammation
—Researchers from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University Hospital Bonn have demonstrated that certain derivatives of vitamin B2 can alleviate chronic kidney inflammation in mice. Their findings have been published in the journal “Nature Communications.”
