Booster for neutrophil granulocytes - 27/10/2021 Acetate supports immune cells to fight against sepsis Blood poisoning is the most dangerous complication of bacterial infections and often leads to death. Researchers at the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen have now identified acetate as a potent agent for stimulating innate immune system cells, supporting their ability to destroy bacteria.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/acetate-supports-immune-cells-fight-against-sepsis
Press release - 14/09/2021 Bridging antibodies plus enhancer can destroy breast cancer cells Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have developed antibodies that have two antigen-binding sites and can couple cancer cells with effector cells of the immune system. In laboratory tests, these bridging antibodies, together with an enhancer antibody, were able to specifically mobilize the body's own immune defenses and destroy breast cancer cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/Bridging-antibodies-plus-enhancer-can-destroy-breast-cancer-cells
Press release - 02/09/2021 Award-winning science: Cancer-promoting metabolic pathways as targets of new therapies Christiane Opitz, scientist at the German Cancer Research Center, is being awarded this year's Ita Askonas Prize of the European Federation of Immunological Societies. Opitz has discovered how tumor cells use certain metabolites to protect themselves against the immune system. Her research findings may provide important clues for the development of new therapeutic concepts.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/award-winning-science-cancer-promoting-metabolic-pathways-targets-new-therapies
Press release - 26/07/2021 Vaccination against hereditary colorectal cancer successful in mice Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and Heidelberg University Hospital have for the first time been able to delay the development of hereditary colorectal cancer with a protective vaccination. Mice with a hereditary predisposition to colorectal cancer survived significantly longer after vaccination than unvaccinated animals. Combining the vaccination with an anti-inflammatory drug increased the protective effect.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/vaccination-against-hereditary-colorectal-cancer-successful-mice
Press release - 15/07/2021 Mechanism for differentiation of specific immune cell types discovered Under certain conditions, our immune system can efficiently fight off infectious diseases and cancer. T cells, especially the gamma delta T cell type, play an important role in this. The issue is that this cell type is extremely infrequent in the human body. Researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen, the University of Heidelberg and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have now succeeded in finding the cause for the formation of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mechanism-differentiation-specific-immune-cell-types-discovered
Press release - 12/07/2021 Hijacked immune activator promotes growth and spread of colorectal cancer Through a complex, self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, colorectal cancer cells make room for their own expansion by driving surrounding healthy intestinal cells to death - while simultaneously fueling their own growth. This feedback loop is driven by an activator of the innate immune system. Researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Heidelberg discovered this mechanism in the intestinal tissue of fruit…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/hijacked-immune-activator-promotes-growth-and-spread-colorectal-cancer
Press release - 06/07/2021 High-throughput metabolic profiling of single cells Scientists from the EMBL and the German Cancer Research Center have presented a new method for generating metabolic profiles of individual cells. The method, which combines fluorescence microscopy and a specific form of mass spectroscopy, can analyze over a hundred metabolites and lipids from more than a thousand individual cells per hour. Researchers expect the method to better answer a variety of biomedical questions in the future.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/high-throughput-metabolic-profiling-single-cells
Press release - 23/06/2021 Blood stem cells make brain tumors more aggressive For the first time, scientists from the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) partner site in Essen/Düsseldorf have discovered stem cells of the hematopoietic system in glioblastomas, the most aggressive form of brain tumor. These hematopoietic stem cells promote division of the cancer cells and at the same time suppress the immune response against the tumor. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/blood-stem-cells-make-brain-tumors-more-aggressive
Article - 10/06/2021 New study: vaccine therapy for treating patients with chronic leukaemia Personalised peptide vaccination is expected to improve the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. A research team from Tübingen has started a Phase I clinical trial with CLL patients who will undergo ibrutinib treatment. Other leukaemia sufferers as well as cancer patients in general are also expected to benefit in the long term.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-study-vaccine-therapy-treating-patients-chronic-leukaemia
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
Vaccine development - 25/05/2021 Vaccines - a beacon of hope in the fight against pandemics https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/vaccines-beacon-hope-fight-against-pandemics
Signal mechanisms in inflammatory processes - 18/05/2021 Newly discovered substances activate the inflammasome in macrophages Low-grade chronic inflammation caused by components of the innate immune system may increase the risk of developing a variety of diseases in the long term. In their search for the signalling mechanisms underlying these inflammatory processes, Prof. Dr. Olaf Groß' research group at the Freiburg University Medical Centre discovered new active substances with immunostimulatory properties that may open up additional possibilities in cancer…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/newly-discovered-substances-activate-inflammasome-macrophages
Article - 29/04/2021 Nanobodies for determining neutralising antibodies after corona infection After contact with a pathogen, ideally our immune system generates neutralising antibodies to prevent a future infection. With NeutrobodyPlex, scientists from Reutlingen and Tübingen have developed a highly specific test procedure based on single-domain antibodies (nanobodies) that can be used to easily and reliably determine the quality of the immune response against the novel coronavirus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/nanobodies-determining-neutralising-antibodies-after-corona-infection
Press release - 14/04/2021 Engineering T cells for cancer therapy efficiently and safely Genetically enhancing a patient's immune cells by adding therapeutic genes to them outside the body is regarded as a promising new treatment approach in oncology. However, the production of these therapeutic cells using viruses is not only expensive but time-consuming. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an innovative non-viral vector that can efficiently introduce therapeutic genes into immune cells. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/engineering-t-cells-cancer-therapy-efficiently-and-safely
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 - 17/02/2021 A new piece of the HIV infection puzzle explored Researchers from EMBL and Heidelberg University Hospital combine high-resolution imaging to observe the infection process in cell nuclei, opening the door for new therapeutics.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-piece-hiv-infection-puzzle-explored
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 - 01/02/2021 Targeting a rapid market breakthrough for new vaccine production method 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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/targeting-rapid-market-breakthrough-new-vaccine-production-method
Press release - 18/01/2021 How a protein variant could explain resistance to sleeping sickness drug A specific variant of the surface protein VSG of African trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness, is associated with resistance to the important drug Suramin. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center have now been able to find a possible explanation for the formation of resistance based on the crystal structure of this protein variant.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-protein-variant-could-explain-resistance-sleeping-sickness-drug
Infection control - 07/01/2021 Gene accordions as potential markers for pathogenic properties Bacteria must react to changes in the environment in order to survive. This is partly done by adapting genetic material, for example by multiplying and shortening individual genome segments. The research group led by Dr. Simon Heilbronner from the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine at the University of Tübingen has shown that these so-called gene accordions are frequently found in the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/gene-accordions-potential-markers-pathogenic-properties
New method for analysing blood samples - 26/11/2020 Personalised therapy monitoring for malignant melanomas Immunotherapy has greatly improved the survival chances of patients with malignant melanoma. A study has now begun at the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital of Tübingen to develop a way to monitor the course of treatment as effectively as possible. It involves personalised monitoring using liquid biopsies in addition to conventional PET/CT examinations. This analysis procedure of blood samples could enable closer monitoring of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/personalised-therapy-monitoring-malignant-melanomas
Atriva Therapeutics - 21/10/2020 COVID-19 pioneer drug in Phase II clinical trial - with double the power The effective treatment of people with severe COVID-19 is a major goal during the corona pandemic. ATR-002, an oral small molecule that targets RNA viruses such as influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2, has a dual effect: it impairs viral propagation and also has an immunomodulatory effect. And what’s more, due to its unique cellular mechanism of action, the efficacy of Atrivia Therapeutics’ drug candidate is not reduced by virus mutations and…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/covid-19-pioneer-drug-phase-ii-clinical-trial-double-power
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
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.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/next-generation-vaccine-production
Mosses for pharmaceutical production - 16/09/2020 Factor H as a therapeutic option for viral diseases - including COVID-19 The search for drug candidates for COVID-19 diseases is well underway. Factor H, which is part of the innate immune system, might also be a future therapeutic option. The Freiburg-based biotech company eleva has developed a technology for producing this human protein in moss cells. The active ingredient, which might also have a regulatory effect in other diseases, is currently undergoing preclinical testing.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/factor-h-therapeutic-option-viral-diseases-including-covid-19