Infection & Immunity
The "Infection & Immunity" work group concentrates on dissecting the host response to infection and vaccination during human cohort studies with primary focus on SARS-CoV2 infection, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), oncogenic Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and helminth infections (together with AG Inge Kroidl). This includes the molecular characterization of the infecting pathogen, identification of correlates of immune protection from infection and disease progression, biomarker discovery for TB diagnostics and treatment monitoring, characterization of HIV reservoirs, as well as mapping of B cell epitopes upon vaccination. Besides the analysis of systemic cellular and humoral immune responses, the group has proficiency in the analysis of effector cell subsets in human tissue samples using multiplex fluorescence immunohistochemistry combined with detection of viral nucleic acids using in situ hybridization to study the micro-environment of virus-infected cells. The capacity for bioinformatic analysis of large-scale RNA sequencing data and microscopy images is undergoing further development.
The working group is closely affiliated with the International Clinical Trials Unit of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and contributes to human subject specimen processing and biobanking during large international clinical trials and observational studies. The group collaborates closely with the NIMR-Mbeya Medical Research Center in Mbeya, Tanzania and the Instituto Nacional da Saude in Maputo, Mozambique as well as other African Research Centers to support improving the capacity for infectious disease research in endemic settings on the African continent.
Analysis of diagnostic RNA signatures by means of microfluidics-based quantitative PCR
Immunomonitoring laboratory
Phenotyping of pathogen-specific T cells on the flow cytometer
Bioinformatic analysis of multi-omics data
The laboratory is equipped with a 13-colour Beckmann Coulter CytoFLEX Flow Cytometer and has vast experience in the flow cytometric analysis of human cells. This includes characterisation of pathogen-specific T cells after in vitro restimulation or by HLA tetramer staining as well as any other cell type in the blood. The laboratory uses the Flow Cytometry core unit CyTUM-MIH for flow cytometric cell sorting at biosafety S2 and S3 level to allow for downstream analyses of DNA and RNA in sorted cells.
The laboratory serves as a core peptide array laboratory for the European HIV Vaccine Alliance. We use a fully validated peptide microarray assay to map and analyse specific antigenic regions recognized by antibodies elicited by vaccination. The technology is established for both, clinical and preclinical specimen. The technology allows reactivity testing against up to 8000 different peptides in triplicates in multiple samples simultaneously. Custom design of the peptide microarray is performed in collaboration with Dr. Georgios Pollakis (University of Liverpool). Bioinformatic downstream analysis of generated data is well established and can be adapted depending on the research question.
Transcriptome analysis is well established within the lab, with bioinformatic workflows developed in house. A particular focus of our research includes the analysis of low abundant cell populations for the discovery of novel biomarkers. We have expertise in high-throughput analysis of whole blood collected in clinical trials and observational studies as well as in low-input RNA sequencing of sorted rare cell populations such as pathogen-specific T cells.
The laboratory is equipped to provide laboratory services for human sample processing and analysis for clinical studies in Munich and elsewhere. This includes the processing of blood samples (Plasma, Serum, Isolation of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells). The group also has tremendous experience in supporting large international clinical with a specific emphasis on Africa. We therefore provide support on sample and reagent logistics, capacity development and the analytic process in multiple national and international study set ups. Please contact us for more information.
