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Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, is produced by intestinal bacteria and serves as the main energy source of intestinal cells. It is a main factor for human health as well since it strengthens the intestinal epithelium and stabilises the local immune defence. Chronic butyrate deficiency is associated with diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. This fact has moved this short chain fatty acid and the bacteria producing it into the spotlight of current microbiome research, which previously focused mainly on the investigation of individual bacterial species. Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) recently developed a workflow that allows the large diversity of butyrate-producing intestinal bacteria to be discovered and thus the entire butyrate-producing potential of complex bacterial communities to be investigated. The researchers were able to show that, on average, more than 20 different butyrate-producing species can be detected in the intestines of a person and have the potential to adapt to different environmental conditions leading, all taken together, to the preservation of human health. The researchers recently published their results in mSystems.

Carolacton is a natural product with antibiotic properties that is produced by soil-dwelling microorganisms. Researchers of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) recently discovered that the bacterial agent inhibits a key enzyme of the metabolism of folic acid. This metabolic pathway exists in most living organisms and is essential for the growth of the organism since it is involved in the production of DNA components. Since this applies to humans also, the use of carolacton as an antibiotic might be difficult. But this target enzyme is needed strongly by rapidly growing cancer cells, which means that the growth of these cells can be inhibited by carolacton. The new evidence shows that carolacton and agents derived from this substance may be used as inhibitors in future cancer therapies. The researchers recently published their results in Nature Communications.

German scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) in Braunschweig and Nigerian researchers are applying the new mobile information system for the first time to combat a monkeypox outbreak in Nigeria. The monkeypox epidemic has spread since September 2017 and, by now, afflicts 128 patients in 14 federal states in Nigeria. The name of the system, SORMAS, stands for "Surveillance, Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System". It captures and analyses data upon the outbreak of dangerous infectious diseases, recognises potential hazards and manages necessary control measures at an early point in time. In line with the technological status of West African countries, the system is based mainly on mobile tablets or phones. It allows laboratories and hospitals to network with each other and to exchange epidemiological data in real-time.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major pathogen that can cause severe infections in various organs of the human body. The infection becomes particularly harmful when the bacteria agglomerate into biofilms: They do this not only to evade attacks of the immune system, but also to protect themselves from the effects of antibiotics. This results in chronic infections that are almost impossible to treat. Scientists from the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a joint branch of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Saarland University, developed a molecule, which binds specifically and irreversibly to a key bacterial protein in biofilms. By binding, this molecule blocks an important component of the biofilm and can also visualise the biofilm, when it is labelled with an appropriate dye. The scientists published their results in the international edition of Angewandte Chemie.

Silke Tannapfel has been the Administrative Director of the HZI since 01 October 2017. A lawyer with a focus on science management, she previously directed the division for extramural research support of the Bavarian State Ministry for Economy and Media, Energy and Technology in Munich. InFact spoke to her about her professional challenges and the first days at the HZI.

Vaccination affords the best protection from many infectious diseases. Vaccines are usually administered with a syringe, but researchers are working on alternatives – like a nasal spray or a vaccination cream. These would not only avoid the unpleasant injection, but even increase the effectiveness. Vaccines usually contain killed or attenuated pathogens and are injected into the patient. This ensures that the entire vaccine truly ends up inside the body. Recognising the pathogens in the vaccine as dangerous foreign material, the immune system prepares itself for defence. The administration by injection with a syringe has its drawbacks as well: It is not the natural pathway of infection and the elicited immune response therefore does not always afford optimal protection from the pathogen. Vaccination also requires trained personnel that simply is not available everywhere and at all times, especially in less developed countries.