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The diversity of bacterial species in the gut is greatly reduced in people with a Western lifestyle compared to those following a traditional lifestyle and typically consuming fresh unprocessed foods. Such distinction is particularly profound for Segatella, a group of bacterial species belonging to the Prevotellaceae family. Now an international research team led by Prof. Till Strowig from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, the University of Trento (Italy) and the University Hospital Essen has succeeded in cultivating and characterizing Segatella bacteria and establishing their roles in human health in depth. Not only did they discover new Segatella species, but they were also able to show that men who practiced sex with men have a significantly higher Segatella carriage, the diversity of which resembles that of non-Western populations. The results were published in the journals Cell Host & Microbe and Cell Reports Medicine.

Tuberculosis and malaria are among the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide and are increasingly spreading, not least due to climate change. In both cases, antimicrobial resistance renders established active substances ineffective. To ensure that effective drugs are still available in the future, researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) are working together with Evotec, a leading company for drug research and development, on resistance-breaking anti-infectives based on natural products. The research project of the team led by Prof. Rolf Müller now receives 3.1 million euros in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, the HIPS has been accepted as a member of the renowned "Tuberculosis Drug Accelerator".

It is widely known that the cells of the human immune system are natural works of art that protect us from serious diseases on a daily basis. Now they are also part of an art project at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig: The international artist Margherita Pevere used the HZI laboratories to examine her own immune cells and will create a work of art from the results. Pevere is supported in her work by Martina Palatella, a doctoral researcher in the HZI department “Experimental Immunology” headed by Prof Jochen Hühn.

The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has appointed new members to the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO). Among the 19 experts is Dr Berit Lange, acting head of the department “Epidemiology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. The STIKO is an independent, voluntary committee of experts with the aim of developing vaccination recommendations for the population in Germany. The newly appointed STIKO will hold its inaugural meeting on March 12 and 13, 2024.

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes severe lower respiratory tract infections, particularly in young children. To date, there is neither an antiviral therapy against the virus nor a vaccination for children. This is why researchers led by Thomas Pietschmann at TWINCORE, a joint institution of Hannover Medical School (MHH) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, are looking for new active substances against RSV. In a large-scale study, they have now identified lonafarnib as a promising candidate. They have published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

Researchers from the Würzburg Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) deployed CRISPR interference for the first time for the functional characterization of the gut mutualist Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. They identified a small ribonucleic acid (sRNA) that modulates the microorganisms' growth in the presence of bile. The findings should contribute to a better understanding of the bacterium’s lifestyle in its native environment, the human intestine, and to the development of clinical applications. The study was published in the journal PNAS.