Towards a better understanding of the human immune defense against RNA viruses

New findings in the fight against pandemics

08-Oct-2024 - 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 ...

Impressive results against autoimmune disease

Severe systemic lupus no longer detectable after cancer medication treatment

06-Sep-2024 - The team at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is astounded by the huge improvement seen in a female patient with severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) after being treated with the cancer medication teclistamab. Not long ago, the 23-year-old was wheelchair-bound due to the autoimmune ...

Finding unknown effects of existing drugs

Proteins as the key to precision medicine

05-Aug-2024 - Fewer side effects, improved chances of healing: the goal of precision medicine is to provide patients with the most individualized treatment possible. This requires a precise understanding of what is happening at the cellular level. For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of ...

Key to Improving Cancer Treatments Discovered

Discovery Paves the Way for the Development of Precise Inhibitors

07-Jun-2024 - Some cancer drugs cause severe side effects because they are not working accurately enough. A team at the University of Würzburg led by biochemist Caroline Kisker has now discovered why. The small protein ubiquitin is involved in almost every cellular process in our body: it orchestrates the ...

Pregabalin and gabapentin in combination with other drugs - a potentially lethal cocktail

02-Apr-2024 - The addictive nature of pregabalin is well known. Due to its relaxing and euphoric effects, pregabalin (as well as gabapentin) is increasingly being abused as a drug. According to a current UK evaluation, the number of pregabalin and gabapentin-related deaths has increased and a corresponding ...

Anti-ageing drug rapamycin improves immune function through endolysosomes

Protection against an increase in pro-inflammatory factors with age

01-Mar-2024 - Rapamycin is considered a promising anti-ageing drug that improves health in old age and alleviates the age-related decline in immune function. A research group at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing has discovered in fruit flies that rapamycin activates the so-called endolysosomes, ...

The virus hackers: RNAi therapy for viral respiratory diseases

Inhalation as a silver bullet

05-Feb-2024 - A research team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM and the Hannover Medical School (MHH) have made significant progress in developing a new antiviral therapy. The drug, which is inhaled, uses RNAi to target and deactivate parainfluenza viruses before they ...

Mutating Hepatitis Viruses Make Drug Treatment More Difficult

Study paves the way for the next generation of active substances

31-Jan-2024 - A combination therapy with multiple drugs is more effective than just one active compound. To begin with, at least. Hepatitis E affects over 20 million people worldwide. It clears up without any consequences in most cases, but it can pose a risk to pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. ...

Prepared for the next virus pandemic

13 institutions from 6 countries set up European research platform

11-Jan-2024 - In collaboration with 12 partners from 6 countries, Jena University Hospital is establishing the Antivirus Pandemic Preparedness EuropeAn pLatform (APPEAL), a European research initiative aimed at enhancing preparedness for future pandemics. This EU funded collaboration will establish a ...

Cell-free quest for new antibiotics

A new method combines synthetic biology with artificial intelligence

20-Nov-2023 - The rising resistance of bacteria to antibiotics presents an escalating global health risk. Now, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology have combined synthetic biology and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a more efficient approach to finding and creating new ...