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Time and again – the flu is coming to Germany. The number of cases of the current wave of influenza is still rising. When influenza viruses – the cause of the flu – enter our body, the immune system recognises them as being foreign by means of various receptors and starts a defence programme. Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and of the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg recently studied the detailed role of a certain receptor in this first line of defence. They discovered that the receptor activates natural killer cells, which use messenger substances to activate other immune cells and then eliminate body cells that are infected by viruses. Deciphering these relationships can reveal new pathways for improvements in the prevention and therapy of influenza infections. The scientists published their results in Frontiers in Immunology.

Hepatitis E virus infections are usually subclinical and are considered as an underrated disease by physicians. The number of infections worldwide is estimated at 20 million infected people per year. In our latitudes, primarily people with weakened immune systems get sick. In Asia and Africa, however, a different genotype is present, which is a serious threat to a very special population group: pregnant women. One in four pregnant women dies there as a result of a hepatitis E infection. Scientists at TWINCORE have now investigated the differences in regional hepatitis E types in order to explore treatment approaches against this highly dangerous variant for pregnant women. With their investigations, they first developed a cell model with which they can test drugs for their suitability against hepatitis E. The project was funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).

Each year, bacteria of the Yersinia genus cause several thousand cases of gastrointestinal infections in Germany alone. In most cases, the human immune system manages to eliminate the bacteria. But in a fraction of the afflicted individuals, a chronic infection develops that can promote the manifestation of autoimmune diseases in the long term. Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig recently discovered the trick these Yersinia germs use to hide from the immune system: They reduce the production of a toxin by means of which they promote the inflammation of the afflicted tissue during an acute infection. As a result, the inflammation subsides allowing the bacteria to escape the attention of the immune system. The researchers published their results in PLOS Pathogens.

In January, Prof Petra Dersch, Head of the Department of Molecular Infection Biology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, was admitted to the European Academy of Microbiology. The Academy has been in existence since 2009 and has set itself the goal of promoting microbiological research in Europe and further strengthening exchange between scientists.

Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, is produced by intestinal bacteria and serves as the main energy source of intestinal cells. It is a main factor for human health as well since it strengthens the intestinal epithelium and stabilises the local immune defence. Chronic butyrate deficiency is associated with diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. This fact has moved this short chain fatty acid and the bacteria producing it into the spotlight of current microbiome research, which previously focused mainly on the investigation of individual bacterial species. Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) recently developed a workflow that allows the large diversity of butyrate-producing intestinal bacteria to be discovered and thus the entire butyrate-producing potential of complex bacterial communities to be investigated. The researchers were able to show that, on average, more than 20 different butyrate-producing species can be detected in the intestines of a person and have the potential to adapt to different environmental conditions leading, all taken together, to the preservation of human health. The researchers recently published their results in mSystems.

Carolacton is a natural product with antibiotic properties that is produced by soil-dwelling microorganisms. Researchers of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) recently discovered that the bacterial agent inhibits a key enzyme of the metabolism of folic acid. This metabolic pathway exists in most living organisms and is essential for the growth of the organism since it is involved in the production of DNA components. Since this applies to humans also, the use of carolacton as an antibiotic might be difficult. But this target enzyme is needed strongly by rapidly growing cancer cells, which means that the growth of these cells can be inhibited by carolacton. The new evidence shows that carolacton and agents derived from this substance may be used as inhibitors in future cancer therapies. The researchers recently published their results in Nature Communications.