Article - 05/10/2008 Award for AIDS researcher from Ulm The Dr. Ernst Wiethoff Award 2008 for innovative clinical research worth 25000 euros was presented to Jan Münch from the Institute of Virology at the University Hospital of Ulm. Münch discovered a new protein that blocks the HI virus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/award-for-aids-researcher-from-ulm
Article - 09/02/2015 Joining forces to develop anti-cancer immunotherapies No cancer therapy is currently achieving such promising results as immunotherapy. The German Cancer Research Center and Bayer HealthCare have established a joint laboratory to develop novel immunotherapies that selectively reactivate the body’s own immune system and incite it to attack tumour cells, thereby supporting the faster translation of concepts from the laboratory into clinical application.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/joining-forces-to-develop-anti-cancer-immunotherapies
Article - 08/09/2014 Thomas Boehm – pushing back the frontiers of knowledge The comparison of different animal species enables us to understand the crucial principle of immune defence on condition that the right investigative approach is chosen. Prof. Dr. Thomas Boehm director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been doing just this for many years. Based on insights into fundamental immune system functions Boehms research is aimed at developing new strategies for the diagnosis…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/thomas-boehm-pushing-back-the-frontiers-of-knowledge
Dossier - 13/04/2015 Boosting the immune system can improve cancer prevention and treatment The activation of the body’s immune system to fight cancer is not only a promising therapeutic concept, but is already used in medical practice. The first immunotherapies have been approved and many more are either in the experimental stages or already undergoing clinical testing. Vaccines to prevent certain types of cancer are already being used successfully around the world.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/boosting-the-immune-system-can-improve-cancer-prevention-and-treatment
Overview Red biotechnology The latest articles, press releases and dossiers on red biotechnology in Baden-Württemberghttps://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/biotech
Press release - 07/12/2021 Moderate immune response is more effective against leukemia The development of immunotherapies against blood cancer could be more successful if T cells are activated moderately rather than excessively. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center have now been able to show this in mice: If the researchers blocked a cytokine that slows down the immune system, the T cells became exhausted and failed in the fight against leukemia.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/moderate-immune-response-more-effective-against-leukemia
Article - 15/03/2010 Andreas Diefenbach: A molecular approach to disease mechanisms Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach began his academic career as a philosophy student. Nowadays, the immunologist at the Freiburg University Medical Centre investigates how cells of the innate immune system fight off cancer and infections. He believes that, in contrast to all other subjects, immunology is an area that very much focuses on concepts. Diefenbach’s research frequently gives rise to situations needing new paradigms.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/andreas-diefenbach-a-molecular-approach-to-disease-mechanisms
Intestinal peptide heals lung - 14/10/2020 Inhalation of intestinal hormone VIP helps against immunotherapy-induced pneumonia If cancer patients develop pneumonitis, an inflammation of the lungs resulting from immunotherapy, their symptoms and restrictions in lung function can often only be alleviated with cortisone. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Joachim Müller-Quernheim and Dr. Björn Frye from the Freiburg University Medical Centre have been able to cure a patient's pneumonitis by inhalation of a long-known neuropeptide.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/inhalation-intestinal-hormone-vip-helps-against-immunotherapy-induced-pneumonia
Article - 21/04/2009 Two separate defence systems? Are the innate and the adaptive immune systems really completely independent from each other? Dr. Mathias Lucas from the University of Freiburg investigates receptor proteins that are found in the cells of both systems. It is possible that such systems might not only play a role in infections or cancer, but also in autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/two-separate-defence-systems
Dossier - 09/09/2013 New trends in the field of immunology B- and T- lymphocytes along with macrophages have long been regarded as the most important cells of the human immune system and have thus been a major focus of research. This has now changed and it is now the dendritic cells that are regarded as the major components of the adaptive immune system and have become a major focus of scientific interest. Research into innate immune defence mechanisms has also become more important due to the discovery…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/new-trends-in-the-field-of-immunology
Press release - 12/10/2009 Cancer Cells Suppress the Body’s Own Defense Mechanisms Cancer cells use tricks to evade the immune system. Thus, for example, they attract specific blood cells which suppress the body’s own defense mechanisms. Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), collaborating with colleagues of the University Surgical Hospital in Heidelberg and an international research team, have investigated these processes in bowel cancer. The results of their research have now…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/cancer-cells-suppress-the-body-s-own-defense-mechanisms
Press release - 28/11/2010 Immune cells react to their immediate environment A new collaborative research centre (SFB) will be established in Heidelberg to investigate chronic inflammatory diseases. Scientists from the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center will be funded with around 10 million euros for the research. Prof. Meuer from the University Hospital of Heidelberg will coordinate the new SFB.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/immune-cells-react-to-their-immediate-environment
Press release - 09/07/2009 Marcus Groettrup: Discovery in the kingdom of cells Prof. Marcus Groettrup has been closely investigating the daily defence battle of the human immune system for a number of years. The researcher from Constance has now found a substance that has the potential to revolutionise the treatment of rheumatism.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/marcus-groettrup-discovery-in-the-kingdom-of-cells
Article - 20/03/2011 Non-pathogenic bacteria for the treatment and prevention of allergies Researchers and physicians from the Department of Dermatology at Tübingen University Hospital are investigating huge numbers of non-pathogenic bacteria with the aim of shedding light on their potential for the prevention and treatment of allergies. The mode of action of highly promising candidates is being investigated in further detail. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/non-pathogenic-bacteria-for-the-treatment-and-prevention-of-allergies
Press release - 24/03/2021 Vaccination against mutated protein tested in brain tumor patients for the first time Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. Mutations in the tumor genome often lead to protein changes that are typical of cancer. A vaccine can alert the patients' immune system to these mutated proteins. For the first time, physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now carried out a clinical trial to test a mutation-specific vaccine against malignant brain tumors.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/vaccination-against-mutated-protein-tested-brain-tumor-patients-first-time
Press release - 25/05/2021 How “paralyzed” immune cells can be reactivated against brain tumors Brain tumor cells with a certain common mutation reprogram invading immune cells. This leads to the paralysis of the body's immune defense against the tumor in the brain. Researchers from Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Freiburg discovered this mechanism and at the same time identified a way of reactivating the paralyzed immune system to fight the tumor.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-paralyzed-immune-cells-can-be-reactivated-against-brain-tumors
Article - 14/11/2011 Marina Freudenberg and Chris Galanos – more than 40 years of bacterial defence research This years Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was awarded to three renowned scientists one of whom is the American Bruce Beutler who was instrumental in clarifying the structure of the mammalian Toll-like 4 TLR4 receptor. Prof. Dr. med. Marina Freudenberg and Dr. Dr. h.c. Chris Galanos from the Freiburg-based Max Planck Institute MPI of Immunobiology and Epigenetics have co-authored the key publication that led to the award of the Nobel Prize…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/marina-freudenberg-and-chris-galanos-more-than-40-years-of-bacterial-defence-research
Article - 09/08/2010 Elara Pharmaceuticals The Heidelberg-based biotech company ELARA Pharmaceuticals is focused on the development of treatments of tumours through the inhibition of the hypoxia signalling pathway (HIF) and through the induction of apoptosis. The company’s lead candidate targets multiple myeloma, a cancer that arises in the plasma cells of the immune system. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/elara-pharmaceuticals
Dossier - 16/12/2021 Advanced therapy medicinal products: gene and cell therapies Novel gene and cell therapies for treating incurable and hereditary diseases have raised high expectations. However, success has so far been limited to the long-established bone marrow transplants involving the administration of haematopoietic stem cells used to treat blood cancer. CAR T-cell therapies have recently emerged as a major new hope in cancer treatment.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/advanced-therapy-medicinal-products-gene-and-cell-therapies
Press release - 12/10/2009 Natural killer cells against cancer: Georges Köhler Prize awarded to scientist at the German Cancer Research Centre Dr. Adelheid Cerwenka was awarded the Georges Köhler Prize 2009 for her outstanding achievements in her research on natural killer cells and their importance in the defence against tumours. The Georges Köhler Prize, which is sponsored by the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG and awarded by the German Society of Immunology, comes with a purse of €3000. The prize is given to scientists under 40 for outstanding research into the immune system.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/natural-killer-cells-against-cancer-georges-koehler-prize-awarded-to-scientist-at-the-german-cancer
Article - 17/02/2021 Whole blood model enables development of early warning system for sepsis Sepsis is a life-threatening disease that can be treated all the more successfully the faster therapy is initiated. It is not just the infection itself that is so dangerous, but a dysregulated response of the immune system. Physicians at Ulm University Hospital have now developed an animal-free test system that can be used to research the disease and develop innovative diagnostic tools to quickly assess a patient's sepsis risk and optimise…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/whole-blood-model-enables-development-early-warning-system-sepsis
Press release - 08/01/2010 Harmless or lethal? Insilico Furthers Research on Fungal Infections Candida albicans is a harmless yeast fungus – at least most of the time. However, if the immune system is weak, then the fungus normally found on everyone’s skin and mucous membranes can become a lethal threat. Insilico Biotechnology is participating in a joint project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in which interactions between fungus and human host cells are to be studied on the molecular level with the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/harmless-or-lethal-insilico-furthers-research-on-fungal-infections
Article - 18/03/2010 Cancer treatment adapted to individual patient requirements There is still no treatment available for a number of non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas. Chemotherapy, which is the standard method of treating the lymphomas, has unpleasant side effects. Researchers led by Prof. Dr. Hendrik Veelken at the Freiburg University Medical Centre in cooperation with Freiburg-based CellGenix Technologie Transfer GmbH have developed a promising new treatment strategy. Results of the Phase I and the Phase II study, which has…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cancer-treatment-adapted-to-individual-patient-requirements
Press release - 18/11/2008 Oxygen radicals alter immune cells Researchers from Heidelberg have discovered that certain oxygen compounds are produced in greater quantities in the body due to cancer or inflammation and that this leads to the alteration of a protein that controls the flexibility and adaptability of certain immune cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/oxygen-radicals-alter-immune-cells
Press release - 20/05/2021 Immune cells promote proinflammatory fatty liver disease A particular type of dendritic cell is responsible for the tissue damage that occurs in non-alcoholic steatohepatits (NASH) in mice and humans. The dendritic cells cause aggressive, proinflammatory behavior in T cells, as now discovered by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in collaboration with colleagues from Israeli research institutes. Blocking these dendritic cells alleviates symptoms in mice.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/immune-cells-promote-proinflammatory-fatty-liver-disease