Macrophages interacting with cytomegaloviruses - 22/02/2022 Cytomegaloviruses subvert macrophage identity Cytomegaloviruses are basically harmless. However, if they occur along with other pathogens, they can trigger serious diseases. They can manipulate our immune system and encourage resident defence cells to migrate. Researchers at the Centre for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI) at the Freiburg University Medical Centre have discovered which mechanisms underlie the behavioural changes in macrophages that make it easier for other pathogens to attack.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/cytomegaloviruses-subvert-macrophage-identity
Press release - 07/12/2021 New approach developed to predict response of immunotherapies in lung cancer At Tübingen University Hospital, a preclinical study led by Dr. Clemens Hinterleitner and Prof. Dr. Lars Zender, Medical Director of Medical Oncology and Pneumology, led to extremely promising results. The research group was able to develop a new methodology that makes it possible to better predict the likelihood of success of immunotherapies for lung cancer.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-approach-developed-predict-response-immunotherapies-lung-cancer
Press release - 25/10/2021 How the "thermostat" in the brain measures impending overheating The mechanisms by which the body measures temperature and regulates its own body heat are vital, but still poorly understood. The discovery of the first heat sensor on nerve cells in the skin, for which the U.S. molecular biologist David Julius received this year's Nobel Prize for Medicine, was therefore pioneering.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/how-thermostat-brain-measures-impending-overheating
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
Article - 14/01/2021 Newly discovered RNA as growth driver in liver cancer Non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) molecules that do not encode proteins have many different functions, and some are associated with certain diseases. Prof. Dr. Sven Diederichs from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg has been conducting research into these molecules at the Freiburg University Medical Centre and discovered a ncRNA that regulates cell proliferation in cancer cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/newly-discovered-rna-growth-driver-liver-cancer
Press release - 09/12/2020 Combatting cancer with biological circuits The Freiburg engineer and biologist Prof. Dr. Barbara Di Ventura receives a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), one of the most prestigious prizes for European researchers, for her project "InCanTeSiMo - Intelligent cancer therapy with synthetic biology methods". Di Ventura will use the 2 Million Euros to develop a novel cancer treatment based on molecular methods from synthetic biology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/combatting-cancer-biological-circuits
Press release - 04/11/2020 Which treatment is best for childhood brain tumors? Global trial receives funding of EUR 2.2m The German Childhood Cancer Foundation is providing EUR 2.2m to fund the phase III clinical trial to investigate the treatment options for certain types of childhood brain cancer with a chronic course. Initiated by the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg, the trial will compare two standard chemotherapy treatments and a targeted therapy to establish which is the most effective and well tolerated as a standard therapy for young patients.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/welche-behandlung-ist-die-beste-bei-hirntumoren-im-kindesalter-weltweite-studie-wird-mit-22-mio-euro-gefoerdert
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
Press release - 15/10/2020 Pancreatic cancer: Subtypes with different aggressiveness discovered Tumors of the pancreas are particularly feared. They are usually discovered late and mortality is high. Until now, no targeted and personalized therapies exist. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine* (HI-STEM) have now succeeded for the first time in defining two differently aggressive molecular subtypes of pancreatic carcinoma.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/pancreatic-cancer-subtypes-different-aggressiveness-discovered
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/heparegenix-develops-active-substance-liver-regeneration
Microstructure Technology - 17/07/2020 An electronic nose for many applications Sensory organs are sophisticated masterpieces of nature. That is why humans have often tried to copy them. Be it cameras or microphones - there are technical objects that have always been based on natural models such as the eye or the ear. For a long time, however, no artificial sense of smell has featured in the technical repertoire. Now researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed an electronic nose. It can…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/electronic-nose-many-applications
Press release - 27/09/2018 One hundred percent success Two Clusters of Excellence for the University of Freiburg: Biological Signalling Studies and Bioinspired Materials Research. It is a major boost to cutting-edge research in Freiburg: in the current Excellence Strategy competition, scientists at the University of Freiburg have been granted two Clusters of Excellence, CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies, and livMatS – Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/one-hundred-percent-success
Article - 21/02/2018 HepaRegeniX – a start-up is taking it up a step! HepaRegeniX, a biotech company founded in 2016, specialises in developing drugs that restore the regenerative capacity of diseased livers. The three founders of the biotech start-up, Prof. Dr. Lars Zender, Prof. Dr. Stefan Laufer and Dr. Wolfgang Albrecht, anticipate starting clinical testing of the first drug candidate in 2019.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/heparegenix-a-start-up-is-taking-it-up-a-step
Press release - 21/09/2017 Atriva reaches a development milestone and receives an additional tranche of running seed financing to develop its influenza therapeutic to clinical stage The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Co-Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received a second tranche of its running seed financing in total of € 3 Mn from Dutch, German and Canadian investors, after lead compound ATR-002 (Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitor against Influenza) has passed an important preclinical milestone paving the way to clinical development stage.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/atriva-reaches-a-development-milestone-and-receives-an-additional-tranche-of-running-seed-financing-to-develop-its-influenza-the
Article - 04/07/2017 Ruxolitinib – successful graft-versus-host disease treatment Graft-versus-host disease is a serious complication in leukaemia patients who have been given a blood stem cell transplant from a genetically different person. Prof. Dr. Nikolas von Bubnoff and Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser from the Department of Haematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Freiburg University Medical Centre initiated a Germany-wide study to show that an active substance called ruxolitinib has a promising therapeutic effect.…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/ruxolitinib-successful-graft-versus-host-disease-treatment
Press release - 07/02/2017 Atriva receives seed financing to develop its next generation influenza therapeutic The next generation of Antiviral Therapies: Led by Stichting Participatie Atriva together with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Atriva Therapeutics GmbH has received seed financing from Dutch and German private investors to advance Atriva’s antiviral MEK-Inhibitors (Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor) against Influenza into the clinical development stage.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/atriva-receives-seed-financing-to-develop-its-next-generation-influenza-therapeutic
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. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-target-for-the-therapy-of-hepatocellular-carcinoma-discovered
Article - 05/09/2016 Apogenix: immuno-oncological protein drugs for the treatment of malignant diseases Apogenix AG, a biopharmaceutical company from Heidelberg that specialises in immuno-oncology, develops protein drugs that target central signalling pathways involved in regulating the growth, migration and apoptosis of malfunctioning cells and thus offer novel treatment options for cancer and other malignant diseases.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/apogenix-immunonkologische-proteinwirkstoffe-gegen-maligne-erkrankungen
Article - 02/06/2016 DNA origami for decoding the language of biological cells Cells have their own language that they use to communicate with each other. They need this language to be able to form intact tissues and fulfil their specific functions in the body. If these signalling pathways are disrupted, metabolic processes will suffer and result in diseases. We know many “words” of the cellular language, i.e. signalling molecules that bind to specific surface receptors and thereby trigger chemical reactions inside the…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/dna-origami-for-decoding-the-language-of-biological-cells
Article - 13/01/2016 New approach for treating depression Depression is the most common mental health condition; it must be taken seriously and requires treatment. Exactly how and where therapies work is still unclear. Prof. Dr. Dietrich van Calker and Prof. Dr. Knut Biber from Freiburg University Medical Center have been looking into mechanisms of action and have discovered a molecule that appears to be implicated in numerous neuropsychiatric disorders and the effect of various anti-depression…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-approach-for-treating-depression
Article - 07/01/2016 New protein helps B cells generate an effective immune response The human immune system plays a key role for human health. Dr. Gina Fiala, a scientist in Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel’s team in the Department of Immunology at Freiburg University, has discovered Kidins220/ARMS in B cells. Kidins220/ARMS is part of the adaptive immune system where it plays a key role in the maturation of B cells.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/kidins220-hilft-b-zellen-bei-der-immunabwehr
Researcher profile - 09/11/2015 Michael Boutros – from the study of social gene networks to the management of the DKFZ Deregulation of cell signalling pathways is a major driver of cancer. Prof. Dr. Michael Boutros has pioneered the development of new methods for the analysis of genetic interactions in such complex networks. He has been acting Chairman and Scientific Member of the Management Board of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) since September 1st 2015. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/michael-boutros-from-the-study-of-social-gene-networks-to-the-management-of-the-dkfz
Article - 03/09/2015 Pattern formation: How undifferentiated cell clusters develop orderly structures Dr. Patrick Müller explores cellular signalling pathways that turn undifferentiated cell clusters into orderly structures as embryos develop. Supported by an ERC grant, the Max Planck researcher from Tübingen uses a broad range of methods from the fields of genetics, biophysics, mathematics and the computer sciences for his investigations. Regenerative medicine is one field that particularly stands to benefit from Müller’s findings. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/pattern-formation-how-undifferentiated-cell-clusters-develop-orderly-structures
Article - 26/05/2015 Novel effect of B-Raf inhibitors against bowel cancer discovered Colorectal carcinoma is the most frequent type of bowel cancer and the second most common tumour disease in men and women in Germany. A particularly aggressive form occurs when a mutation is present in the proto-oncogene BRAF. As part of the Collaborative Research Centre 850 at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research at the University of Freiburg, Dr. Ricarda Herr and Dr. Tilman Brummer are trying to find out how a mutated BRAF gene…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/novel-effect-of-b-raf-inhibitors-against-bowel-cancer-discovered
Article - 23/02/2015 Miriam Erlacher: apoptosis research – balancing clinical work and research Programmed cell death plays an important role in embryonic development and has also been identified as the cause of a range of diseases. It also plays a key role in the development and survival of higher organisms. Its regulation is based on a sophisticated system of interacting antagonistic signals in a network that is still largely unknown. Disturbances in this delicate balance promote the development of diseases such as cancer. Dr. Miriam…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/miriam-erlacher-apoptosis-research-balancing-clinical-work-and-research