Postnatale Supplementierung mit S100a8/a9-Alarminen verbessert die durch Mangelernährung verursachte Enteropathie

Das Team der Abteilung Translationale Pädiatrie des Uniklinikums Würzburg (UKW) identifiziert in der Fachzeitschrift Nature Communications den Mangel an S100a8/a9 als entscheidenden pathogenetischen Faktor der durch mütterliche Mangelernährung induzierten Enteropathie und zeigt, dass eine einmalige Gabe des Proteins S100a8 direkt nach der Geburt ausreicht, um die Etablierung dieser Darmerkrankung zu verhindern und damit vor dem sonst lebenslang erhöhten Risiko für Darminfektionen und Darmentzündungen zu schützen.

An international research team led by Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig from the University of Bayreuth has discovered how the TRIM25 protein contributes to defense against RNA viruses whose genetic material is contained as ribonucleic acid (RNA). The results provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the human immune system. The researchers have now reported their findings in Nature Communications.

Ein internationales Forschungsteam unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig von der Universität Bayreuth hat herausgefunden, wie das Protein TRIM25 zur Verteidigung gegen Viren, deren Erbgut als Ribonukleinsäure (RNA) vorliegt, beiträgt. Die Ergebnisse verhelfen zu einem besseren Verständnis der molekularen Mechanismen des menschlichen Immunsystems. Darüber berichten die Forschenden nun in Nature Communications.

A new study by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich shows for the first time that bitter tasting protein fragments (peptides) are produced in the stomach during the digestion of the natural sweetener thaumatin. In a cellular test system, the peptides are able to stimulate the acid secretion of human stomach cells and influence inflammatory reactions. “Our research helps to elucidate the health effects of the plant protein, which is widely used as a sweetener,” says Veronika Somoza, head of the study and director of the Leibniz Institute.

Computer Science: Publication in PLOS Biology

Transport proteins are responsible for the ongoing movement of substrates into and out of a biological cell. However, it is difficult to determine which substrates a specific protein can transport. Bioinformaticians at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have developed a model – called SPOT – which can predict this with a high degree of accuracy using artificial intelligence (AI). They now present their approach, which can be used with arbitrary transport proteins, in the scientific journal PLOS Biology.

Informatik: Veröffentlichung in PLOS Biology

Für den ständigen Austausch von Stoffen in und aus einer biologischen Zelle heraus sind Transportproteine verantwortlich. Es ist aber schwierig zu bestimmen, welche Stoffe ein bestimmtes Protein transportieren kann. Bioinformatiker der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf (HHU) haben nun mithilfe Künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) ein SPOT genanntes Modell entwickelt, das dies mit hoher Genauigkeit vorhersagen kann. In der Fachzeitschrift PLOS Biology stellen sie ihren neuen, für beliebige Transportproteine geeigneten Ansatz vor.

CRISPR-Cas is used broadly in research and medicine to edit, insert, delete or regulate genes in organisms. TnpB is an ancestor of this well-known “gene scissor” but is much smaller and thus easier to transport into cells. Using protein engineering and AI algorithms, UZH researchers have now enhanced TnpB capabilities to make DNA editing more efficient and versatile, paving the way for treating a genetic defect for high cholesterol in the future.

CRISPR-Cas wird weltweit eingesetzt, um Gene in Organismen zu bearbeiten, einzufügen, zu löschen oder zu regulieren. TnpB, ein viel kleinerer Vorläufer der bekannten «Genschere«, lässt sich einfacher in Zellen transportieren. Mithilfe von Protein-Engineering und KI-Algorithmen haben UZH-Forschende TnpB so verbessert, dass es die DNA viel effizienter editiert und künftig Gendefekte behandeln könnte.

Biotechnology team at University of Tübingen obtains valuable byproduct in protein production – Contribution to feeding a growing world population without livestock farming

A study by the Kaether research group at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of a rare and usually fatal hereditary disease called MEDS1. The study entitled „IER3IP1-mutations cause microcephaly by selective inhibition of ER-Golgi transport“, now published in the open access journal „Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences“, show for the first time that the absence of IER3IP1 or its mutation causes defective transport of certain proteins that are essential for the development and survival of nerve cells.

Studie der Forschungsgruppe “Membrantransport” am Leibniz-Institut für Alternsforschung – Fritz-Lipmann-Institut (FLI) in Jena beleuchtet die molekularen Mechanismen einer seltenen Erkrankung. Die neuen Einblicke in die molekularen Ursachen der meist tödlich verlaufenden Erbkrankheit MEDS1 wurden jetzt im Open Access Journal “Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences” veröffentlicht unter dem Titel “IER3IP1-mutations cause microcephaly by selective inhibition of ER-Golgi transport.”

Imaging: Publication in Science Advances

How can molecular structures be analysed when the resolution of the techniques available is not sufficient? Researchers from the fields of physics, chemistry and medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have combined and further developed various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques in order to examine a protein arrangement in the cell membrane that is important for “programmed cell death”. In the scientific journal Science Advances, they now describe the circumstances under which the CD95 receptor – which is responsible for cell death – reacts.

The protein JUN plays a key role in restraining the cancer growth-promoting proteins YAP and TAZ, thereby helping to prevent uncontrolled cancer growth. The findings have now been published in the EMBO Journal under the title „A non-canonical repressor function of JUN restrains the activity of YAP and the growth of liver cancer“. The study was led by Dr. Björn von Eyss, who heads the research group „Transcriptional Control of Tissue Homeostasis“ at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute in Jena.

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), can be used to visualize and analyze cellular structures in their natural environment. Researchers at the MPI of Biochemistry in Martinsried and the University Medical Center Göttingen have now used cryo-ET to study protein folding helpers, so-called chaperonin complexes, in the bacterium E. coli. These chaperonins help newly synthesized proteins to fold into their correct, functional form. The researchers were able to illuminate the folding reaction with unprecedented detail, monitoring conformational changes in the chaperonin as well as its interactions with the client protein inside the folding chambers. The results have been published in Nature.

Bonn researchers clarify the influence of treatment with tetrahydrocannabinol on the metabolic switch mTOR: A low-dose long-term administration of cannabis can not only reverse aging processes in the brain, but also has an anti-aging effect. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn together with a team from Hebrew University (Israel) have now been able to show this in mice. They found the key to this in the protein switch mTOR, whose signal strength has an influence on cognitive performance and metabolic processes in the entire organism. The results are now presented in the journal „ACS Pharmacology & Translation Science“.

To ensure that food proteins do not become scarce in the future despite extreme weather conditions and increasing environmental stress, six Fraunhofer Institutes are focusing on indoor farming systems in the lighthouse project „FutureProteins“ (alternative protein sources). How can wheatgrass, alfalfa, and potatoes be successfully grown indoors without soil, using only artificial lighting? And are these methods not only ecologically sustainable but also economically viable? Fraunhofer IWU is focused on this aspect, as the price tag is crucial for accepting product innovations in the food sector. In regions with significant poverty, high prices could make such products inaccessible.

HZI researchers use mouse virus as a vehicle for the spike protein for an improved immune response

Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy (LIT) studied hundreds of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). They discovered that specific mutations in the STAG2 protein cause altered DNA folding in the cell nucleus, thereby contributing to the development of AML.

Forschende des Leibniz-Instituts für Immuntherapie (LIT) untersuchten hunderte Patienten mit akuter myeloischer Leukämie (AML). Dabei entdeckten sie, dass bestimmte Mutationen des Proteins STAG2 eine veränderte Faltung der DNA im Zellkern verursachen und so zur Entstehung der AML beitragen.

Memory loss, confusion, speech problems – Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting about 35 million people worldwide, and the number is growing. The protein amyloid beta, which occurs naturally in the brain, plays a central role in the disease: It accumulates in patients in insoluble clumps that form plaques between neurons in the brain, damaging them. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences have now shown that, in addition to neurons, special glial cells in the brain also produce amyloid beta. This finding could open up new avenues for future therapies.

Gedächtnisverlust, Verwirrtheit, Sprachstörungen – die Alzheimer-Krankheit ist die häufigste Ursache von Demenz und betrifft weltweit rund 35 Millionen Menschen, Tendenz steigend. Eine Schlüsselrolle in der Erkrankung spielt das Protein Beta-Amyloid, das natürlicherweise im Gehirn vorkommt: Es lagert sich in Betroffenen zu unlöslichen Klumpen zusammen, setzt sich in Form von Plaques zwischen Nervenzellen im Gehirn ab und schädigt diese. Forschende am Max-Planck-Institut (MPI) für Multidisziplinäre Naturwissenschaften konnten nun zeigen, dass im Gehirn nicht nur Nervenzellen, sondern auch Gliazellen Beta-Amyloid-Proteine produzieren. Dies könnte neue Ansätze für zukünftige Therapien bieten.

AP180 is a protein involved in endocytosis and thus in signal transmission between nerve cells. This protein, which largely lacks a three-dimensional structure, has never been fully studied. Using solution NMR spectroscopy, scientists from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) were now able to examine each of its 600 unstructured amino acids individually and discovered a new interaction network. The work has model character. The paper was recently published in „Nature Communications.“

Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells’ surface. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a second entry pathway, a protein complex of the immune system, to infect cells. This ability helps the viruses infect different species – and potentially jump between animals and humans.

The “power plants” of living cells, the mitochondria, probably evolved through endosymbiosis: A bacterium migrated into a primordial cell and eventually developed into an organelle that provides the cell with energy, among other things. Mitochondria produce some of the proteins they need themselves – with the help of special protein factories called mitoribosomes, which consist of RNA and proteins. Researchers in Göttingen have now provided a roadmap for how cells assemble human mitoribosomes in a modular fashion.

Freiburg-Prague research collaboration achieves scientific breakthrough in understanding cell division.