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[Translate to English:] Endogener ASC-Speck, abgebildet in 3D mit dSTORM. © iScience, CC-BY-4.0

News

A central component of the human immune system, the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in fighting off infections. However, its chronic activation is also implicated in a variety of common diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, atherosclerosis, gout, and type II diabetes. The NLRP3 inflammasome occurs primarily in specialized immune cells in the blood and elsewhere. It is a dense complex in which several proteins interact with each other. A key protein in this complex is known by the abbreviation ASC. In non-activated immune cells, it is distributed homogeneously throughout the cell. If the NLRP3 inflammasome is activated, all of the ASC protein present in the cell aggregates in the inflammasome complex. Under an ordinary fluorescence microscope, the ASC protein, once labeled, appears as a single, bright, nearly round spot. Due to the small size and high density of this ASC speck, scientists have been unable to elucidate details of its structure inside cells. Different models were proposed in the scientific literature but a comprehensive understanding was missing.

11.12.2023

HZI Campus

Symbol image; hand turns an equal and an unequal sign between the symbols for male and female gender

Story

Am I more likely to have a mild case of pneumonia or is it more likely to be life-threatening? What is my risk of side effects from COVID-19 vaccination? Do I belong to a group of people who are more likely to contract chronic viral hepatitis than others? The answers to these questions vary – depending on your sex and gender. Hospitalised for pneumonia, males are twice as likely as females to need to be transferred to intensive care (see list of sources). Females, in turn, are more than twice as likely as males to suffer side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine. And chronic hepatitis B is more common among males than among females.

08.12.2023

CiiM

HZI Campus

Portrait of Christian Scherf (left) und Josef Penninger (right)

Interview

The message is clear: The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) aims to become one of the world's premier infection research institutes. Professor Josef Penninger, Scientific Director of the HZI since 1 July 2023, has set the bar high. Christian Scherf, the Administrative Director of the HZI since 1 January 2023, is going to do everything in his power to support him.

05.12.2023

HZI Campus

News

In July of this year, the new Scientific Director, Prof Josef Penninger, took office at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI). He succeeds Prof Dirk Heinz, who stepped down from his position after 13 years and began establishing the new "Molecular Structural Biology" research department at the HZI. On 4 December 2023, Dirk Heinz was thanked for his many years of successful work and the handover of office to Josef Penninger was celebrated in the presence of renowned guests from science and politics.

05.12.2023

HZI Campus

Portrait

Professor Hortense Slevogt is an expert in the field of respiratory and lung infections and immunology. Both as a renowned researcher and a doctor. If you ask her for a catchy name for what she does, she doesn't hesitate: "I build bridges." Bridges between research and clinical practice. Slevogt has been a W3 professor at Hannover Medical School since 2022 and is a senior physician for clinical infectiology with the Department of Pneumology and Infectiology. She is also the head of the "Dynamics of respiratory infections" research group at the HZI in Braunschweig. In her role as a clinical scientist, she finds it extremely fulfilling to translate discoveries from the laboratory and clinical studies into direct benefits for patients.

04.12.2023

HZI Campus

News

To ensure that vaccines provide strong and lasting immunization, it is often necessary to supplement the actual vaccine (antigen) with additives that stimulate the immune system: adjuvants. Today, only a few substances have been approved for use as adjuvants. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, a research team has now introduced a spectrum of potential adjuvants. They started with the immune stimulant α-glactosyl ceramide (α-GalCer) and synthesized many different variants from a set of four building blocks.

04.12.2023

HZI Campus

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