Research

Funding: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, 236.600 EUR

Project Details:
exploratory research project

Funding: EU, 1.234.225 EUR

Project Details:
Bewertung von rational konzipierten Influenza-Impfstoffen

Funding: EU Kommission (imi), 337.500 EUR

Project Details:
The objective of WP3 is to combine the broad expertise of consortium partners in drug discovery in order to identify small molecule candidate drugs to fight coronaviruses.
To effectively deliver drug candidates, WP3 is interacting closely with WP1 and WP2 to identify and select potential starting points for further development based on clearly defined progression criteria. A screening cascade for (phenotypic) hit ID has been implemented and executed. In addition, a coordinated AI-platform and analysis of targets for their druggability is being finalized to facilitate the selection of potential starting points for chemistry. The medicinal chemistry efforts have not yet been initiated as the review and selection of potential starting points from the first wave of hit identification is still ongoing.
In addition to the Hit selection criteria to move forward into Hit to Lead (H2L), WP3 contributors have already prepared for the next steps by defining the initial progression criteria for hits, leads and optimized lead compounds. In addition, a screening cascade for H2L and lead optimization (LO) is proposed, including the flow for the ADMET-PK related assays. The aim is to work towards the predefined target product profiles (TPPs) which have also been discussed within WP3 and are close to finalisation.

Project Details:
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Funding: Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes

Project Details:
We investigate the pathophysiological pathways underlying post-COVID-19 syndrome with the goal to develop biomarkers and rational therapeutic intervention.

Cooperation Partners:

Prof. Dr. Gülsah Gabriel (TiHo, HPI Hamburg), Prof. Dr. Günter Höglinger (Neurology, MHH), Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kalinke (TWINCORE Hannover)

Funding: Deutscher Akadademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD-PROCOPE), 9.108 EUR

Project Details:
Nonverbal vocal communication in humans contains information about the emotional state of the sender which can be used by the receiver. Comparing the acoustic structure and the context of production of these vocalizations across mammalian species revealed cross-taxa similarities suggesting a pre-human origin in encoding emotional information acoustically (e.g., Davila Ross et al., 2009, Newman, 1985, Zimmermann et al., 2013). In contrast to human laughter and cries, our knowledge on other nonverbal sounds such as the Sigh is limited. Therefore, the current study investigated whether vocalizations comparable to the human sigh can be found in nonhuman mammals and whether these vocalizations can be related to emotional states of the sender as well as to the quality of social interaction.
In the order Perissodactyla, horses and rhinoceros are known to produce noisy vocalizations at a high call rate (e.g. Policht et al., 2008, Yeon et al., 2011). The Snort is one of this noisy vocalizations, characterized as an explosive more or less pulsed breathing sound produced by nostril vibrations while expulsing the air. The function of this call type is not yet clear. First, it was proposed that this call type might have a hygienic function rather than a communicative function (e.g., Yeon et al., 2011, Linn et al., 2018). Second, it was proposed that the Snort might be an indicator of positive emotions or at least a relaxed state in horses. In the rhinoceros infant Snorts occurred also during affiliative interactions supporting to function as an indicator of the positive emotional state (Linn et al., 2018). This suggests that either the Snort has a communicative function to signal socially acceptance to group members or express an internal relaxed state of the sender which might affect group members via an emotional contagion mechanism.
To clarify the function of Snorts and to investigate to which extent there are cross-taxa similarities at least in the order Perissodactyla, we aim to compare Snort production between horses and rhinoceros.

Cooperation Partners:

Idu Azogu-Sepe, Serengeti Park Hodenhagen

Prof. Alban Lemasson, Rennes 1 University, France

Prof. Martine Hausberger, Rennes 1 University, France

Dr. Mathilde Stomp, Rennes 1 University, France

Planét Sauvage, Frankreich

Funding: Pharmaceutical sector, 230.000 EUR

Project Details:
therapy development for neurodegenerative diseases

Funding: QOL Med LLC, Vero Beach, Florida, USA; Unrestricted Research Grant, 230.000 EUR

Project Details:
Growing evidence supports a strong link between rare functionally deleterious SI variations (typical of CSID) to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).In a recent study we could show that variants coding for the SI gene with defective or reduced enzymatic activity predispose to IBS and suggested that this may help the identification of individuals at risk, and contribute to personalising treatment options in a subset of patients (Henström et al., Gut. 2018 Feb;67(2):263-270. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2016-312456. Epub 2016 Nov 21.). One variant, the Phe15Val variant is associated with a substantial decrease in the overall enzymatic digestive capacity of SI. Moreover, an association with increased risk of IBS was found for 4 rare loss-of-function variants typically found in (homozygous) CSID patients, as carriers (heterozygous).
Recent studies (Garcia-Etxebarria et al., Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018 Feb 2. pii: S1542-3565(18)30118-6. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2018.01.047 [Epub ahead of print]) have identified a number of variants in the SI gene that could be associated with IBS.
In this project we will examine the enzymatic function and protein trafficking of the variants, P348L, V371M, Q801X, Y975H, V1667L, in COS-1 cells and then as heterozygotes in intestinal Caco-2 cells.

Results:

https://gut.bmj.com/content/71/6/1237;https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016508521031772?via%3Dihub;https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443922000011?via%3Dihub

Funding: GKF, Tübitak; FAZIT Stiftung, 100.000 EUR

Project Details:
Die Bedeutung von Th 17 Zellen wurde bei Steril-eitriger Meningitis-Arteritis untersucht. Derzeit wird diese Zellpopulation bei Hunden mit Epilepsie und Bandscheibenvorfällen evaluiert.

Project Details:
Knowledge of various material parameters is an important prerequisite for performing computer simulations. In the case of the simulation of electrical processes in animals, the electrical conductivity of the animal tissues concerned must be known. The experimental determination of the electrical conductivity of various animal tissues is the subject of this research project.

Results:

https://elib.tiho-hannover.de/receive/tiho_mods_00003346