A new consortium COVIMMUNE under the direction of Prof. Eicke Latz, speaker of the cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 is being funded with around 2 Million Euros by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The project "Understanding divergent host reactions to SARS-CoV-2 infections by precision immunology" (COVIMMUNE) brings together clinical researchers at the University Hospital Bonn who are involved in COVID-19 patient care with basic scientists with immunological expertise from the University of Bonn.
"We want to find out the connection between the mechanisms of the immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the clinical course of the disease," says Prof. Dr. Eicke Latz. Around two dozen personalities from disciplines such as virology, internal medicine, intensive care medicine, pulmonology, neurology, immunology, blood coagulation, bioinformatics and systems biology are involved. Together they want to contribute to a better understanding of the different course of the disease in SARS-CoV-2 infections. Prof. Natalio Garbi heads the sub-project of the consortium on adaptive immunity. He says: "We want to test whether the interaction of the innate and the acquired (adaptive) immune response is the key to eliminating the infection and developing long-term immunity without long-term health consequences."
The aim is to find out how the SARS-CoV-2 virus can trigger a misdirected immune response and what role this plays in severe COVID-19 disease courses. Furthermore, a clinical study will investigate which factors cause long-term damage to the lungs and the nervous system. Prof. Dr. Michael Heneka, whose sub-project in the consortium is looking at the secondary diseases of the lungs and the central nervous system caused by COVID-19, says: "It is not yet well understood how infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can trigger such secondary diseases. We want to examine these relationships in a clinical study in order to be able to offer better treatment options."
Contact
Institute of Innate Immunity, University of Bonn
Phone: 0228/287-51223
E-Mail: eicke.latz@uni-bonn.de
