SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19

Since the end of 2019, a novel virus that can cause respiratory diseases and pneumonia has been spreading worldwide. The pathogen SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the coronavirus family and is closely related to the SARS virus, which caused a pandemic in 2002. Here we will keep you informed about current developments in research and provide answers to the most important questions.

Scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2.
Scanning electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The virus particles emerge from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. © NIAID-RML

The scientists at the HZI conduct research on numerous aspects of SARS-CoV-2 and the pandemic. They publish their results in high-ranking scientific journals. Here you will find a selection of the research results:

  • Mario Ynga-Durand*, Henrike Maaß*, Marko Milošević et al. SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load in the Pulmonary Compartment of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Correlates with Viral Serum Load and Fatal Outcomes. Viruses. June 2022. DOI: 10.3390/v14061292 (* contributed equally)
  • Yeonsu Kim, Xiaoyan Zheng, Kathrin Eschke et al. MCMV based vaccine vectors expressing full-length viral proteins provide long-term humoral immune protection upon a single-shot vaccination. Cellular & Molecular Immunology. January 2022. DOI: 10.1038/s41423-021-00814-5
  • Matthias Zimmer, Anuja Kibe, Ulfert Rand et al. The short isoform of the host antiviral protein ZAP acts as an inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 programmed ribosomal frameshifting. Nature Communications, December 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27431-0
  • Daniel Wendisch, Oliver Dietrich, Tommaso Mari et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers profibrotic macrophage responses and lung fibrosis. Cell, December 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.11.033
  • Daniela Gornyk, Manuela Harries, Stephan Glöckner et al. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Germany—a population-based sequential study in seven regions. Dtsch Arztebl Int, November 2021; 118. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2021.0364 (online first) https://www.aerzteblatt.de/archiv/221932
  • Federico Bertoglio, Viola Fuhner, Maximilian Ruschig et al. SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody selected from COVID-19 patients binds to the ACE2-RBD interface and is tolerant to most known RBD mutations. Cell Reports, July 2021, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109433
  • Chunlei Jiao, Sahil Sharma, Gaurav Dugar et al. Noncanonical crRNAs derived from host transcripts enable multiplexable RNA detection by Cas9. Science, May 2021, DOI: 10.1126/science.abe7106

A complete list of peer-reviewed publications from the HZI on SARS-CoV-2 can be found in the database PubMed

Coronavirus

Electron micrograph of coronaviruses in black an white.

The coronaviruses are a family of viruses that includes a series of very different pathogens. These viruses usually infect mammals, rodents, and birds, but only few coronaviruses adapted to humans. They did this with great success: About one third of all typical "common colds" and some cases of diarrhoea as well are caused by these RNA Viruses, which are the largest of their kind. [more]

Interview

Dr Peggy Riese, scientist in the Department “Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology” at HZI, talks in an interview about current developments in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research. [more]

Support

With your donation to the HZI you directly support innovative coronavirus research projects that contribute to solutions for the containment of the virus and the identification of possible therapies. [more]

Involved research groups

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