Healthcare industry

Immunotherapy using checkpoint inhibitors is effective in around a quarter of patients with liver cancer. However, to date, physicians have been unable to predict which patients would benefit from this type of treatment and which would not. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center have now discovered that liver cancer caused by chronic inflammatory fatty liver disease does not respond to this treatment. On the contrary: in an…

Do BMMFs, the novel infectious agents found in dairy products and bovine sera, play a role in the development of colorectal cancer? Scientists led by Harald zur Hausen detected the pathogens in colorectal cancer patients in close proximity to tumors. The researchers show that the BMMFs trigger local chronic inflammation, which can cause mutations via activated oxygen molecules and thus promote cancer development in the long term.

In a so-called inactivated or killed vaccine, the virus particles it contains are first rendered inactive by means of the toxic chemical formaldehyde. A better way of achieving this, however, is to irradiate the pathogens with low-energy electrons. Four Fraunhofer Institutes have now developed a new method of vaccine production based on this technique that is not only quicker but also guarantees a higher quality of product.

New preclinical data indicate beneficial therapeutic effects in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-associated liver carcinomas.

KyooBe Tech GmbH - 08/10/2020

Next generation vaccine production

For decades, conventional inactivated vaccines have been produced by killing pathogens with toxic chemicals. However, this process often changes the surface structure of the pathogens to such an extent that the immune system is only able to induce a weak response. KyooBe Tech GmbH is offering a method that uses low-energy electrons to inactivate pathogens. Vaccines produced this way are much higher quality, making them safer and more effective.

Organ failure due to fatty liver - 24/09/2020

HepaRegeniX develops an active substance for liver regeneration

When the liver stops regenerating on its own, it might be possible in future for doctors to intervene with a chemical agent. Tübingen-based HepaRegeniX GmbH is developing a promising candidate with the aim of improving the treatment of both acute and chronic liver failure.

The NMI Reutlingen is currently tackling a major problem associated with antibody tests for the detection of COVID-19: false positive test results.

Article - 11/06/2019

New pathogens in beef and cow's milk contributing to the risk of cancer

A team of researchers led by Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Harald zur Hausen has discovered a new type of infectious agent in dairy and meat products produced from European cattle that increases the risk for colon and breast cancer. These so-called Bovine Meat and Milk Factors (BMMFs) are small DNA molecules that are similar in sequence to both bacterial plasmids and certain viruses.

Cancer immunotherapy - 06/09/2018

The immunogenicity of tumours and the development of new cancer medicines

Microsatellite-unstable cancers are characterised by a large number of mutations within short repetitive DNA sequence regions, and can form novel peptides that the human immune system recognises as neoantigens. These cancers represent a starting point for the development of vaccines to prevent them appearing at an early stage of development. Microsatellite instability is particularly frequent in colon and cervical cancers.

Dossier - 28/08/2018

With molecular diagnostics to biomarker-based personalised therapy

Diagnosing suitable biomarkers is a prerequisite for tailoring personalised therapies to patient heterogeneity. Genetic tests and genome sequencing play a key role in these diagnoses. Up until now, personalised therapy has achieved the greatest success in the field of oncology. However, personalised treatments are also gaining in importance for treating other diseases.

CureVac AG, a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of pioneering mRNA therapeutics, and Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. (NASDAQ:ARCT), an RNA medicines company, today announced they have entered into a broad strategic collaboration to jointly discover, develop and commercialize novel messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics.

Transregional research cooperation - 11/10/2017

New research consortium to develop new liver cancer treatments

The causes, signs and symptoms of liver cancer are extremely complex. Investigating them requires the collaboration of many experts across university and regional boundaries. A new transregional research group is now studying the complex overall mechanisms at the cellular, genetic and molecular level in order to develop new concepts and drugs for treating liver and bile duct cancers.

Article - 12/09/2016

New target for the therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma discovered

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide. If the tumour is at an advanced stage, doctors have few treatment options. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Lars Zender from the University of Tübingen have now identified one of the cancer's Achilles' heels, namely, the interaction between C-MYC and AURKA proteins, which can be destabilised with a drug, thus killing cancer cells.

Article - 18/08/2016

Chronic viral infections of the liver

Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are two of the most common infectious diseases in the world. They often take a chronic course and carry a high risk of progressing to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A new transregional collaborative research centre involving scientists from Heidelberg and Freiburg is looking into how hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, which have different symptoms and treatments, are able to evade the immune system and allow…

Article - 30/06/2016

Why fasting is good for health

A protein in the nucleus of liver cells is produced in greater quantities when we go hungry; it limits fatty acid uptake and adjusts the metabolism in the liver. However in people with metabolic disorders, the abnormal expression of this protein (GADD45β), which was previously only known to be involved in the regulation of cell division and DNA repair, leads to a dysregulated fat and sugar metabolism. Scientists from the DKFZ and Helmholtz…

Article - 02/05/2016

Hepatitis C: a new starting point for vaccine development

With approximately 150,000 infected people in Germany, hepatitis C is a common disease for which therapies, but no vaccine, are available. Dr. Tobias Böttler from the Freiburg University Medical Center and his team are exploring the body’s immune response to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and have found valuable information that could be used for vaccine development.

Article - 20/07/2015

Liver cell carcinoma: reducing tumour burden – increasing life expectancy

Liver cell carcinoma or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant human cancers. The disease arises from chronic damage to the liver, usually caused by virus- or alcohol-related liver cirrhoses. Liver tumours are considered difficult to treat, but there is evidence that they actually trigger an immune response in the body. Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme from Freiburg University Medical Centre is seeking to understand this effect and…

Article - 16/03/2015

The critical balance between liver fibrosis and liver regeneration

When the liver has been damaged, a receptor protein of the hepatic stellate cells called endosialin controls the balance between liver repair and scar formation. A team of researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim has shown that endosialin is a positive regulator of fibrogenesis and a negative regulator of hepatocyte proliferation. Endosialin therefore seems to be a promising therapeutic drug target in non-neoplastic settings.

Dossier - 09/03/2015

Advances in the study and treatment of liver diseases

Liver diseases are often underestimated despite being quite common and potentially having serious and even life-threatening consequences, especially in chronic cases. The most common causes of liver diseases are hepatitis viruses, excessive alcohol consumption, and obesity; congenital or autoimmune liver diseases are quite rare. Thanks to advances in medical research, diseases such as hepatitis B and C can be treated effectively. Fewer advances…

Article - 22/12/2014

Fighting hepatitis viruses with their own weapons

Virologist Prof. Dr. Stephan Urban from the University of Heidelberg has been awarded the DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research for the discovery and development of a promising peptide drug for the treatment of hepatitis B virus infections. The peptide prevents viruses from entering the liver cells, and is also effective against hepatitis D infection. Hepatitis D is the deadliest of all viral liver diseases and no specific antiviral…

Article - 20/10/2014

Michael Schindler: HI virus and host interactions

Prof. Dr. Michael Schindler explores the interaction between viruses and their human host cells on the molecular level. His specific interest is HI virus infections and the mechanisms the virus uses to attack the human immune system. Schindler’s eventual aim is to identify a new target for the therapy of HIV infections. In April 2014, Schindler was appointed head of the Department of Molecular Virology of Human Infectious Diseases at the…

Dossier - 28/04/2014

Data mining: new opportunities for medicine and public health

Research and healthcare activities produce huge quantities of data that need to be presented in an understandable structure. This requires computer-assisted extraction of relevant data and the use of statistical methods. This process, known as data mining, enables the discovery of patterns in large data sets. Data mining methods are of particular importance in fields that use high-throughput methods, visualisation methods and telemedical…

The 15-year history of RNA interference is not short on dramatic effects. It begins with the unexpected discovery and publication of the process of post-transcriptional gene silencing in 1998 for which the two Americans Andrew Fire and Craig Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine just eight years after their discovery. In 2001 Thomas Tuschl succeeded in switching off genes in human cells with small synthetic pieces of RNA…

Article - 17/12/2012

Medicyte GmbH – gold standard for human cells

Medicyte GmbH is a life sciences company located in the city of Heidelberg. It focuses primarily on the production of quasi-primary human cells of the highest quality and in virtually unlimited quantity. MediCyte’s goal is to establish its proprietary cell proliferation technologies as gold standard for the use of human cells and cell products in research, development and cell therapy.

Article - 03/09/2012

Systems biology and hepatitis C research

The international research project SysPatho aims to advance the understanding of HCV (hepatitis C virus) infections using systems biology approaches. The goal of the project coordinated by Universität Heidelberg is to develop new mathematical and computational methods to reconstruct HCV-infected hepatocytes, which can be used to identify new drug targets and help treat this dangerous disease.