—More than 21 million people in Africa are infected with the nematode Onchocerca volvulus, the cause of river blindness. Around one in ten of those affected goes blind. Parasitologists around Prof. Hörauf at the University Hospital Bonn are looking for new, more effective weapons against the insidious parasite.
—Cluster member Prof. Bradke, who works at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and his group have identified a group of proteins that help to regenerate damaged nerve cells. Their findings are reported in the journal Neuron.
—The University of Bonn is one of only eleven Universities of Excellence in Germany appointed today and one of two in North Rhine-Westphalia. With the six Clusters of Excellence acquired last September, the University of Bonn is the most successful university in the Germany-wide Excellence competition.
—We are very happy to announce the opening of our family room at the BMZ. The opening ceremony was attended by Mrs. Kolits, a representative of the family service PME and Mrs Banavas from the office of gender equality of the UKB. The more than 40 guests had the opportunity to ask questions, exchange their experiences and have a look in our family room.For our Cluster scientists, the family room can be used to provide childcare by the family service of PME when the regular daycare is closed due to unforeseen reasons. If you organize your own childcare- you can use it after…
Immune memory characteristics of innate lymphoid cells
—Immunological memory is an evolutionally acquired trait that allows a more robust response of an organism to re-infection. Two types of immune memory have been characterized: adaptive immune memory that is antigen-specific and is generated by adaptive immune cells, and trained immunity that is unspecific and developed by innate immune cells such as macrophages. This clear dichotomy fades when it comes to the immune cell compartment that shares...
Regulation of Innate Immune Responses by Platelets
—Platelets have been extensively studied in the context of coagulation and their hemostatic imbalance can lead to conditions as atherosclerotic plaques and thrombosis. Nevertheless, the knowledge regarding the regulation of immune cell types by platelets has been growing exponentially in the past years. Among these biological systems, the innate immunity is remarkably affected by the crosstalk with platelets. This interaction comes from the formation of platelet-leukocyte aggregates, signaling by direct contact or by stimulation of immune cells by...
The helicase DHX36 resolves G-quadruplex structures and supports stress response
—DNA and RNA G-quadruplex structures are thermodynamically very stable arrangements of four nucleic acid strands, in which the guanines interact via Hoogsteen base pairing. It has been shown that the formation or resolution of RNA G‑quadruplex structures has severe impacts on diverse cellular processes such as transcription or translation. Interestingly, the formation of G-quadruplex structures in untranslated regions of mRNAs can render these mRNAs translationally inactive. The Paeschke lab characterized the RNA targets of DHX36, a 3′−5′ DEAH-box helicase, and discovered...
Congratulations to the recipients of the SFB/ Transregio grants:
—University of Bonn researchers were successful in the securing SFB/Transregio grants.The SFB/Transregio Aortic Diseases will be working on basic and clinical research on expanding the understanding of fundamental principles in the pathogenesis of aortic diseases. The SFB/Transregio Cellular mechanisms of antibiotic action and production intends to further investigate the biochemical production and action mechanisms of antibiotics.
—ImmunoSensation Scientist Dr. Bernardo Franklin was feature in a Nature article titled "Europe is a top destination for many researchers". The article interviewed scientists from different parts of the world who are working in the EU.
