New T-FINDER Platform Provides Deep Insights Into T Cell Responses Against Novel Cancer Vaccine

Researchers at the BioMed X Institute and the Universitätsmedizin Mannheim just published the results of their collaboration around a new neoepitope vaccine in diffuse midline glioma in Science Advances.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

An infectious gibbon ape leukaemia virus is colonising a rodent’s genome in New Guinea

A research team catches a glimpes of a rare recent case of retrovirus integration. Retroviruses are viruses that multiply by incorporating their genes into the genome of a host cell. If the infected cell is a germ cell, the retrovirus can then be passed on to the next generation as an “endogenous” retrovirus (ERV) and spread as part of the host genome in that host species. In vertebrates, ERVs are ubiquitous and sometimes make up 10 per cent of the host genome. However, most retrovirus integrations are very old, already degraded and therefore inactive – their initial impact on host health has been minimised by millions of years of evolution.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Bielefelder Biotechnologen entschlüsseln Q10-Biosynthese

CeBiTec-Forschende mit Studie im Fachmagazin Molecular Cell

Das Coenzym Q10 ist für den menschlichen Stoffwechsel essenziell. Es ist mit Vitaminen verwandt – muss aber von gesunden Menschen nicht über die Nahrung aufgenommen werden, sondern wird vom Körper selbst produziert. Wie das Coenzym gebildet wird, war bisher nur für Bakterien bekannt. Für andere Zellen, zum Beispiel von Menschen oder Pflanzen, fehlte ein entscheidender Schritt. Wissenschaftlern des Centrums für Biotechnologie (CeBiTec) der Universität Bielefeld ist es gelungen, diese Lücke zu schließen.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Aktueller Themenband zu Gen- und Zelltherapien der AG Gentechnologiebericht

Die Arbeitsgruppe Gentechnologiebericht am Berlin Institute of Health in der Charité (BIH) hat eine aktuelle Übersicht zu Gen- und Zelltherapien herausgegeben. Die umfangreiche Publikation, die in Kooperation mit der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Gentherapie (DG-GT) und dem German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) entstanden ist, richtet sich an ein breites Publikum. Der Bedarf an sachkundigen Informationen über Entwicklungen der Gentechnologie ist groß. Hierbei sind Transparenz und ein verantwortungsvoller Umgang mit neuen Technologien unbedingt erforderlich.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Precursor of Cholesterol Protects Cells From Ferroptosis

A precursor of cholesterol, previously categorised as harmful, can protect cancer cells from cell death. This finding, published in Nature, opens new doors for cancer research.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

How HIV smuggles its genetic material into the cell nucleus

Around one million individuals worldwide become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, each year. To replicate and spread the infection, the virus must smuggle its genetic material into the cell nucleus and integrate it into a chromosome. Research teams led by Dirk Görlich at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Science and Thomas Schwartz at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now discovered that its capsid has evolved into a molecular transporter. As such, it can directly breach a crucial barrier, which normally protects the cell nucleus against viral invaders. This way of smuggling keeps the viral genome invisible to anti-viral sensors in the cytoplasm.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Einfluss von N⁶-Methyladenosin auf die Translation

Ein internationales Forschungsteam unter der Leitung der Universität Hamburg hat die Auswirkungen des Nukleosids N⁶-Methyladenosin auf verschiedene Prozesse während der Proteinbiosynthese auf molekularer Ebene untersucht. Die Ergebnisse wurden nun in der Fachzeitschrift „Molecular Cell“ veröffentlicht.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Complement System Causes Cell Damage in Long Covid

Long Covid patients suffer from chronic symptoms such as fatigue or shortness of breath. As researchers at the University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich have discovered, this is to some extent due to a part of our immune system called the complement system. The study identified a pattern in the blood proteins that will improve the diagnosis and perhaps also the targeted treatment of Long Covid.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Vaccine boosts innate immunity in people with dormant immune cells

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is one of the world’s oldest and most widely used vaccines. It was developed in the early 20th century to provide protection from tuberculosis. Surprisingly, this vaccine protects not only against tuberculosis but also reduces the risk for various other infections, through a mechanism called trained immunity. A new study led by Christoph Bock and Mihai Netea found that epigenetic cell states predict whether or not an individual profits from the “wake-up call” to the innate immune system that is provided by the BCG vaccine. This discovery contributes to the development of future therapeutics that induce protective trained immunity.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

How does a molecular freight elevator work?: Important Membrane transport mechanism in pathogenic bacteria researched

Some bacterial membrane transporters work almost like freight elevators to transport substances through the cell membrane into the interior of the cell. The transporter itself spans the bacterial membrane. Like a forklift, a soluble protein outside the bacterium transports the substance to the „elevator“ and unloads its cargo there. The freight elevator transports it to the inside of the cell, in other words to another floor. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with a team from the University of York, have now studied the interaction between the transporter and its soluble substrate binding protein.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

The gut microbiome prevents dangerous immune reactions

After stem cell transplantation, the donated immune cells sometimes attack the patients‘ bodies. This is known as graft versus host disease or GvHD. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Universitätsklinikum Regensburg (UKR) have shown that GvHD is much less common when certain microbes are present in the gut. In the future, it may be possible to deliberately bring about this protective composition of the microbiome.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Treating tuberculosis when antibiotics no longer work

A research team has detected various substances that have a dual effect against tuberculosis: They make the bacteria causing the disease less pathogenic for human immune cells and boost the activity of conventional antibiotics / publication in ‘Cell Chemical Biology’

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Tuberkulose behandeln, wenn Antibiotika nicht mehr wirken

Ein Forschungsteam hat verschiedene Substanzen entwickelt, die gleich doppelt gegen die Tuberkulose wirken: Sie machen den Erreger für Menschen weniger gefährlich und schaffen neue Angriffspunkte für vorhandene Antibiotika / Veröffentlichung in „Cell Chemical Biology“

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

New transport pathway for active substances into the cell discovered

One of the major challenges facing cell research is how to target substances to combat diseases. A team from Constructor University, in cooperation with scientists from the University of Vienna, discovered a new, promising method using spherical metal oxide molecules known as polyoxometalates. They report on the results of their research in the journal „Advanced Materials“, one of the most important publication media in chemistry and materials science.

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Cells of the Future: A Key To Reprogramming Cell Identities

The Dynamic Journey of DNA Replication Timing and Its Impact on Cellular Plasticity

The intricate process of duplicating genetic information, referred to as DNA replication, lies at the heart of the transmission of life from one cell to another and from one organism to the next. This happens by not just simply copying the genetic information; a well-orchestrated sequence of molecular events has to happen at the right time. Scientists around Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla from Helmholtz Munich have recently uncovered a fascinating aspect of this process known as „replication timing“ (RT) and how special this is when life commences. The new results are now published in Nature.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

“Honey, I shrunk the cookbook” – New approach to vaccine development

Bioinformatics: Publication in Cell Systems

Vaccine development aims at protecting as many people as possible from infections. Short protein fragments of pathogens, so-called epitopes, are seen as a promising new approach for vaccine development. In the scientific journal Cell Systems, bioinformaticians from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) now present a method for identifying those epitopes that promise safe immunisation across the broadest possible population group. They have also computed vaccine candidates against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 using their HOGVAX tool.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Acid Sensor and Calcium Store Discovered in Plants

Using optogenetics, Würzburg researchers have detected a new acid sensor in plant cells that is addressing a cell-internal calcium store, as they report in the journal „Science“.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Scientist from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ is once again one of the most cited researchers in the world

For the fifth time in a row, Privatdozent Dr Markus Göker from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH in Braunschweig, Germany, is on the list of the world’s most cited researchers in the field of microbiology.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Accelerating Drug Development for Lung Diseases: New Insights from Single-Cell Genomics

To mechanistically understand the root causes of lung disease, and identify drugs that target specific pathways, the scientists around Prof. Herbert Schiller and Dr. Gerald Burgstaller from Helmholtz Munich are collecting deep molecular insights from patient samples and combining these with experimental interventions in the laboratory. A new combination of methods now enabled them to study mechanisms directly in human lung tissue, thereby accelerating drug development for novel therapies. This groundbreaking work is now published in Science Translational Medicine.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Leukemia cells activate cellular recycling program

To speed up their growth, leukemia cells typically activate the recycling of cellular structures – enabling them to dispose of defective components and better supply themselves with building materials. Researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have now shown that leukemia cells with a very common mutation activate specific genes that are important for this recycling process. Their findings, published in the journal Cell Reports, open up new therapeutic options for the future.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Leukämiezellen aktivieren zelluläres Recyclingprogramm

Um schneller zu wachsen, aktivieren Leukämiezellen typischerweise das Recycling zelleigener Strukturen. So können sie schadhafte Bestandteile entsorgen und sich besser mit Baustoffen versorgen. Forschende der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt haben nun gezeigt, dass Leukämiezellen mit einer sehr häufig auftretenden Mutation ganz spezielle Gene aktivieren, die für diesen Prozess wichtig sind. Die Ergebnisse eröffnen künftige neue Therapieoptionen. Sie sind nun in der Zeitschrift Cell Reports erschienen.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Erste Herzorganoide mit mehreren Kammern enthüllen Entwicklung und Erkrankung des Herzens

Jedes Jahr sterben 18 Millionen Menschen an Herzkrankheiten, aber die Entwicklung neuer Therapien steht vor einem Engpass: Es existiert kein physiologisches Modell des gesamten menschlichen Herzens – bis jetzt. Ein neues Mehrkammer-Organoid, das die komplizierte Struktur des Herzens widerspiegelt, ermöglicht es WissenschaftlerInnen, Screening-Plattformen für die Entwicklung von Arzneimitteln voranzutreiben und die Entwicklung des Herzens zu verstehen. Die neuen Erkenntnisse, gewonnen mit in der Gruppe von Sasha Mendjan am Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften entwickelten Herzorganoid-Modellen, werden am 28. November in Cell veröffentlicht.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Alzheimer’s research: New study uncovers previously unknown processes in fat metabolism

New insights into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease could unlock novel therapeutic approaches and help to prevent the disease. A study led by Professors Marcus Grimm and Tobias Hartmann at the Rhineland Campus of the SRH University of Applied Health Sciences in Leverkusen and at Saarland University has shed light on a bidirectional interaction in the body’s fat metabolism that could play an important role in the development of the disease. Dietary and other lifestyle factors such as smoking also play a role. The research team has published its findings on the relationship between the amyloid precursor protein and fat metabolism in the journal ‚Cell Chemical Biology‘.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Alzheimer-Forschung: Studie deckt bisher unbekannte Abläufe im Fettstoffwechsel auf

Neue Erkenntnisse zur Entstehung von Alzheimer könnten zu neuartigen Therapieansätzen beitragen und helfen, der Krankheit vorzubeugen: Eine Studie der Alzheimerforscher Marcus Grimm und Tobias Hartmann am Campus Rheinland der SRH Hochschule für Gesundheit in Leverkusen und der Universität des Saarlandes hat eine Wechselwirkung im Fettstoffwechsel des Körpers aufgezeigt, die eine wichtige Rolle bei der Erkrankung spielen könnte. Ernährung und Faktoren wie das Rauchen spielen hierbei eine Rolle. Die Forscher veröffentlichen ihre Erkenntnisse zur Beziehung zwischen dem Amyloid-Vorläuferprotein und dem Fettstoffwechsel im Journal „Cell Chemical Biology“.

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Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung eines essentiellen enzymatischen Wirkmechanismus

Forschende der Universität Bayreuth haben die strukturelle Grundlage eines enzymatischen RNA-Abwicklungsmechanismus entschlüsselt. Bei dem Enzym handelt es sich dabei um die DExH-Typ RNA Helikase Maleless (MLE). Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig, Lehrstuhlinhaber für Biochemie IV an der Universität Bayreuth, und seine Arbeitsgruppe haben in einem Beitrag in der Fachzeitschrift Molecular Cell nun die Ergebnisse der Studie veröffentlicht, die ein Durchbruch für die Entwicklung von Medikamenten sein könnte.

Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft