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Trypanosoma brucei, which causes sleeping sickness, evades the immune system by repeatedly altering the structure of its surface coat. An international research team, including Dr Emmanuel Saliba from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg, has now sequenced the complete genome of the parasite and studied its 3D genome architecture. By that, the researchers have revealed crucial molecular aspects of the pathogen’s molecular strategy. The new findings appear in the leading science journal Nature. The HIRI is a location of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in cooperation with the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.

The intestines can do more than just digest and absorb food. It has been known for a while that the intestines harbour a large part of the immune system and that intestinal bacteria are critically involved in the development and function of the intestinal immune system. The so-called gut-associated immune system ensures that we stay healthy and that our immune defence works properly. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and its location in Würzburg, the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), have now demonstrated how the initial microbial colonisation of the intestine immediately after birth determines the unique properties of gut-draining lymph nodes. Using single-cell technology, the scientists demonstrated on the transcriptome level that the scaffold cells of these lymph nodes are stably imprinted by the intestinal microbes during the first days after birth. Furthermore, they can memorize these properties for the lifetime of the host and continuously pass this information on to migrating immune cells. The scientists published their results in Nature Communications.

The initiative “Immunology & Inflammation” unifies efforts in immunological research within the Helmholtz Association. 23 working groups from five Helmholtz Centres are joining forces to address some of the most complex problems in today's immunology in ways that can only be explored in collaboration.

The hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa can cause serious wound as well as lung and urinary tract infections, especially in weakened individuals. Pseudomonas manages time and again to survive attacks of the immune system and antibiotic therapies. One key to the success of this persistent pathogen is its complex communication system as the bacteria use various signalling substances to communicate with each other and to control infection processes. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrücken recently discovered how these bacteria produce a large part of the variety of signalling molecules: The ability of a single protein complex to change its shape allows the bacteria to process molecules of different sizes into signalling substances. If it is possible to develop an inhibitor for this complex, one could “freeze” its motion and interrupt the communication of the bacteria. The scientists published their results in ChemBioChem.

Necrotising fasciitis (NF) is the most severe form of tissue death caused by bacteria. The bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes is one of the main causes of this disease. The infections take a rapid course and are associated with devastating consequences for the afflicted individuals ranging from severe necrosis to toxic shock. The disease is often fatal. However, if detected at an early stage, it can be cured by treatment with medication and removal of the afflicted tissue. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) recently discovered the crucial role and protective effect of pathogen-specific antibodies in the first stage of the Streptococcus infection. Accordingly, early clinical application of a cocktail of human immunoglobulin G containing such specific antibodies might prevent the manifestation of tissue necrosis and the progress of the disease. The study was completed in cooperation with clinicians from the University hospitals in Bergen (Norway), Gothenburg and Stockholm (Sweden) and Copenhagen (Denmark) and was recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Infections continue to be amongst the main causes of death throughout the world. Individually customised prevention and therapies promise to open up new options for curing diseases. But what is the current status of the research throughout the world and what are the most urgent questions – from an ethical, social and economic point of view? Experts will discuss these issues from 21 to 23 June in Hannover.