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It was previously believed that herpesviruses use certain body cells to replicate and other body cells to remain dormant, that is to remain inactive for a longer period of time. This dogma is now being questioned using the example of cytomegalovirus (CMV), a herpesvirus from the beta-herpesvirus subfamily, which can be fatal in immunocompromised transplant recipients. In a new study, scientists from the “Viral Immunology” department at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig have discovered that certain connective tissue cells (fibroblasts) are not only used by CMV for replication, as previously assumed. Apparently, CMV can also remain latent in the fibroblasts. The prevailing picture of an either/or - either the CMV uses a certain type of body cell for proliferation, or it remains in an inactive state there - is therefore no longer tenable. A second paradigm shift suggested by the study is the regulation of the CMV latency in cells: Apparently, the virus controls the use of fibroblasts as sites of latent or active infection not only via factors present in the cell, but also via an interaction with the immune system. The results were published in the renowned journal Nature Communications.

30.05.2023

HZI Campus

CiiM

Zielstrukturen der miR-29 Familie, dargestellt in ihrer zellulären Umgebung

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A team led by bioinformatics experts Andreas Keller and Fabian Kern from Saarland University together with researchers at Stanford University have gained new insights into manifestations of ageing at the molecular level. They found that the process of reading genetic information does not run as smoothly in older individuals as it does in those who are younger. These changes in the transcription process are due to particular RNA molecules that influence the activity of individual genes and thus determine which proteins the body produces – something which can have a huge impact on the body's metabolism. Their research has now been published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

27.04.2023

HIPS

News

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) folds into complex structures which allow it to interact specifically with other molecules in the cell. In HIV-1, minute differences in RNA folding can be crucial in determining whether viral RNA is “packaged” and thus leads to viral replication. This has now been discovered by researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg by enhancing a method used to study RNA structure with a novel sequencing technology. Their findings could help to design new antivirals and were published today in the journal Nature Methods.

27.04.2023

News

Infections with Clostridioides difficile (for short: C. difficile) are often recurrent, because dormant stages of the bacterium persist in the intestine. Thus far, there was no drug that can effectively combat the dormant stages as well. A current One Health study led by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) now shows that a natural product called chlorotonil A can do just that. The study was conducted in close cooperation with the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a site of the HZI in collaboration with Saarland University, Greifswald University and the Leibniz Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH. The research team hopes that chlorotonil A will be a candidate drug that might significantly reduce the risk of reinfection with C. difficile in the future. The study was published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.

25.04.2023

HZI Campus

HIPS

Story

On the World Day for Laboratory Animals April 24, 2023, special attention is paid to the use of animals for research and development of products for humans. In drug research, among other areas, extensive animal testing is a firmly prescribed part of the approval process for new drugs. However, a reduction in the number of laboratory animals is increasingly in sight due to new approaches. At the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a site of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in collaboration with Saarland University, researchers are successfully developing alternative models and have already received awards for their work.

24.04.2023

HIPS

News

Dr Yannic Bartsch's TWINCORE junior research group "Antiviral Antibody Omics" is being funded as a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group (HYIG). Over the next five years, the immunologist will receive a total of 1.5 million euros, half of which will be funded by the Helmholtz Association and half by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. Bartsch already began his work at TWINCORE in January. He is researching the role of antibody responses in infections.

01.04.2023

TWINCORE

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