How Immune Cells “Sniff Out” Pathogens

Researchers are using an innovative method to watch immune receptors go about their business

19-Nov-2024 - Immune cells are capable of detecting infections just like a sniffer dog, using special sensors known as Toll-like receptors, or TLRs for short. But what signals activate TLRs, and what is the relationship between the scale and nature of this activation and the substance being detected? In a ...

A further step towards decoding smell

Researchers elucidate the role of individual brain neurons in human odor perception

14-Oct-2024 - We often only realize how important our sense of smell is when it is no longer there: food hardly tastes good, or we no longer react to dangers such as the smell of smoke. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University of Aachen have investigated the ...

How the brain processes the number zero

27-Sep-2024 - Despite its importance for mathematics, the neuronal basis of the number zero in the human brain was previously unknown. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the University of Tübingen have now discovered that individual nerve cells in the medial ...

How star-shaped cells increase flexible learning

Researchers solve the hidden mystery of the role of astrocytes in learning processes and memory in the brain

19-Jul-2024 - Star-shaped glial cells, so-called astrocytes, are more than just a supporting cell of the brain. They are actively involved in learning processes and interact with the nerve cells. But what exactly is it that astrocytes do? Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of ...

New pathway in immune defense discovered

Interaction of monocytes and platelets decoded

09-Jul-2024 - Monocytes, a special type of white blood cell, secrete cytokines as inflammatory messengers that are crucial for an appropriate immune response. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn have now discovered that platelets, also known as thrombocytes, communicate ...

Breakthrough in research on brown fat

Hope for strategies that support weight loss: Researchers from Denmark and Germany have found brown fat’s “off-switch"

30-Apr-2024 - Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark, the Novo Nordisk Center for Adipocyte Signaling (SDU), the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have found a protein that is responsible for turning off brown fat activity. This new discovery could lead to a promising ...

New findings on the immune system: Hope for highly effective vaccines and new therapies

Underlying mechanism for the development of T follicular helper cells deciphered

05-Mar-2024 - T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are essential for strong antibody-mediated reactions of our immune system during infections and vaccinations. However, if they get out of control, this can cause diseases such as autoimmunity, allergies or cancer. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) ...

Cells refine palm fat into olive oil

Study provides the first precise insight into important remodeling processes in adipose tissue

05-Apr-2023 - For more than 50 years, it has been suspected that fat cells constantly remodel the lipids they store. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now demonstrated this process directly for the first time using culture cells. Among other things, the study shows that the cells quickly eliminate ...

New intracellular "smoke detector" discovered

Study could lead to therapies against skin and intestinal diseases in the medium term

23-Mar-2023 - Researchers at the Universities of Bonn and Singapore have discovered a new intracellular "smoke detector." The sensor warns of damage to the mitochondria - the microscopic power plants that supply the cell with energy. If it does not function properly, chronic skin diseases can result. The ...

Immune cells have a backup mechanism

If the TBK1 enzyme is mutated, susceptibility to viral infections increases – unless it is missing

14-Mar-2023 - The enzyme TBK1 is an important component of the innate immune system that plays a critical role in the defense against viruses. Upon mutation-induced loss of TBK1 function, patients show an increased susceptibility to viral infections. Strikingly, if TBK1 is not expressed at all, this clinical ...