Research

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

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

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.

Funding: VIPER

Project Details:
Die In-situ-Hybridisierung stellt eine wichtige Methode dar, um die Entdeckung neuartiger Viren mit histologischen Veränderungen im Gewebe zu korrelieren. Da verschiedene Protokolle der In-situ-Hybridisierung existieren, ist es wichtig zu untersuchen, ob diese Protokolle in Ihrer Spezifität und Sensitivität, möglicherweise Virus- und/ oder Gewebe-abhängig variieren, um auch gegebenenfalls eine sehr geringe Menge viraler Nukleinsäuren detektieren zu können.
Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Studien sollen verschiedene Erkrankungen, insbesondere des zentralen Nervensystems, die mit einer nicht-eitrigen Entzündung einhergehen, mittels Next Generation Sequencing und im Kontext mit in-situ-Hybridisierung bezüglich einer möglichen Virusätiologie, auch unter Einbeziehung von doppelschichtig RNA spezifischen Sonden entsprechend abgeklärt werden.

Funding: Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon GmbH, Geesthacht, 16.660 EUR

Project Details:
The Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, ITAW, will support Hereon in this project as a subcontractor in the execution of the following tasks with expert services on the impacts of large offshore wind farms on the overall ecological-economic context in the North and Baltic Seas.
-Overview of the obligations arising from the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the status of the indicators.
-Large-scale shifts in marine mammal abundance as a result of avoidance responses to the presence of large-scale OWPs.
-Possible population effects for various marine mammals in the North Sea and Baltic Sea due to habitat loss and health risks from large-scale OWPs in Germany and neighboring countries.
-Effects of underwater noise on marine mammals from blasting, OWP construction and shipping.
-Increased human impact on marine mammals in OWP-free areas due to the accumulation of anthropogenic activities that cannot take place in OWP areas (e.g. fishing, shipping, sand and gravel extraction).
Identification of future research needs, in particular:
-Quantification of possible effects on the occurrence of various marine mammals in the OWP area (density effects).
-Effects of blasting, pile driving and construction and supply vessels on marine mammals.
-Research into possible effects and effect-reducing potentials of larger wind turbines and other wind turbine and OWP designs on marine mammals.

Cooperation Partners:

Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon GmbH, Geesthacht

Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten, Münster

Thünen-Institut für Seefischerei, Bremerhaven

Funding: TIB, 5.427 EUR

Project Details:
In relation to the human-induced biodiversity crisis, we are organizing a semester-long elective module in the Bachelor's degree program in Biology on insect diversity in the city with data collection in the urban environment of the students.
Online educational resources (OERs) are created for this module as a guide for both students and lecturers and published on twillo (https://www.twillo.de/oer/web/). The collected data will be published on an online platform (www.colkat.de) and published in an entomological journal.

Results:

https://www.twillo.de/edu-sharing/components/render/199cd171-3733-4e44-9569-46bf7a3f07e6

Funding: Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, ländliche Räume, Europa und Verbraucherschutz (MLLEV), 42.507 EUR

Project Details:
Title: Scientific investigation of seals released in accordance with animal welfare regulations, especially with regard to infectious diseases & zoonotic potentials as well as the scientific training of personnel of the stranding network for the North and Baltic Seas of Schleswig-Holstein
The harbor seal is the most common marine mammal species in Schleswig-Holstein and causes the most call-outs for seal hunters. In the last three decades, seal populations have experienced several major epizootics, but have subsequently grown in size again. In recent years, however, it has been observed that this growth has stagnated and younger seals in particular are disappearing from the populations.
Seals can be carriers of infectious agents such as the Phocine distemper virus, influenza viruses, brucella and erysipelas, some of which can have fatal consequences for the individual animal or the population. These infectious agents are often zoonotic in nature and can promote secondary infections with other pathogens such as Bordetella bronchiseptica or toxoplasmosis.
In addition to comprehensive pathological examinations of the seals, microbiological, virological and parasitological examinations will also be carried out in this project.
Particular attention will be paid to the young animals in order to check whether there may be health related reasons for their decline. For this purpose, a representative number of all seals handed in by seal hunters from the North and Baltic Seas will be selected and subjected to complete post-mortems and further examinations.
The scientific findings will be directly incorporated into the work of the seal hunters, who will receive regular training in the detection of diseases and the handling of marine mammals. Hygiene measures and documentation materials will be developed and reviewed, and accident prevention training will be provided. To this end, a scientific exchange with the seal hunters will take place throughout the entire research project period.

Funding: Stadt Wilhelmshaven, 10.667 EUR

Project Details:
The nature reserve and European bird sanctuary "Voslapper Groden Süd" (NSG WE 246) is an important breeding area for ground-nesting birds. According to the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the City of Wilhelmshaven, wild boar Sus scrofa are found there in large numbers. The breeding success of the ground-nesting birds was "zero" in spring 2018.

The wild boar population figures were therefore recorded in the fall of 2018 and the city of Wilhelmshaven was given expert advice on wild boar management. Following a court ruling in October 2019, no order to eliminate the wild boar could be issued until the nature reserve was completely fenced in and the population was subsequently reassessed. As a result, the population figures were recorded in the fall of 2019 for monitoring purposes.

After completion of the south fence, the UNB WHV commissioned the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover Foundation to carry out two further surveys on the wildlife population in the WE 246 nature reserve on 16/08/2022 and 10/10/2023.

Results:

The task of the current assignment was to carry out a new population survey and provide expert advice on the management of the wild boar population and an evaluation of the measures taken to date in the Voslapper Groden Süd VSG. To this end, the presence, age class composition, density and spatial-temporal distribution of wild boar were determined. In addition, hunting facilities, the fences enclosing the area and other factors relevant to management were considered. The presence and densities of other mammal species were also recorded.

Funding: Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur (MWK), 30.000 EUR

Project Details:
The first step in the albuminous degeneration of cells leading to cancer, is the loss of polarity of a cell. Without polar orientation, cells start to grow into any direction and start forming a tumor. Scientists all over the world are trying to identify the genes that are responsible for this process. Up to now without success, as the genetics behind is unknown and hardly decipherable in complex human cells.
We want to use the simplest animal model organism, the placozoan Trichoplax in order to identify the responsible genes. Those placozoans do not have any organs or symmetry; they only have a clear polarity of top and bottom. The signaler for polarity is gravity. We can switch it off naturally in space (sounding rockets) or simulately in the lab (via clinostat experiments) in order to study the effects on gene expression patterns. With placozoans as a subject of examination and gene studies in zero gravity we are now able to break new grounds with regards to interdisciplinary and experimental cancer research.
We have formed an international project entity of cancer scientists, space researchers, geneticists and evolutionary biologists in order to be able to launch this new research approach.

Cooperation Partners:

1) Deutsches Luft- und Raumfahrtzentrum (DLR) Köln

2) LaTrobe University, Medical School, Melbourne, Australia

3) Yale University, Yale Genomics Center, New Haven, USA

4) Prof. Robert DeSalle; Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, AMNH, New York)

Funding: GkF-Promotionsstipendium, EVSSAR Grant, 4.000 EUR

Project Details:
Die erworbene Unfruchtbarkeit aufgrund von nicht-obstruktiver Azoospermie stellt die Hauptursache für die chronische asymptomatische Orchitis (CAO) dar, eine sehr häufige Diagnose beim infertilen Rüden, aber auch beim Menschen. CAO assoziiert sind hochgradige histologische Veränderungen, wie ein Arrest der Spermatogenese sowie eine signifikante Infiltration mit Immunzellen. Die auslösende Noxe ist in der Regel unbekannt, eine Vorstellung des Patienten erfolgt meist spät und Therapiemöglichkeiten bestehen bislang nicht. Neben der Identifizierung der Immunzellen und Charakterisierung der exprimierten Entzündungsmarker konnten mittlerweile in der AG auch die Existenz resilienter Stammzellen in Hoden von an CAO leidenden azoospermen Rüden nachgewiesen werden. Es erscheint naheliegend, dass im Zusammenhang mit der CAO auch die Sertolizellfunktion gestört ist - oder möglicherweise die Störung der Funktion kausal zu sehen ist. Sertolizellen spielen eine wichtige Rolle für das Hodenmikromilieu und somit die funktionierende Spermatogenese. Um die Entwicklung, Anzahl und Funktion der Sertoli-Zellen zu untersuchen, wird die Expression verschiedener Marker in gesunden und von CAO betroffenen Hoden ausgewertet. Grundsätzlich soll mithilfe dieses Projekts ein weiterer Störungspunkt im CAO betroffenen Hoden aufzeigt und definiert werden, um zukünftige therapeutische Ansätze in den Sertoli-Zellen für die Wiederaufnahme der Spermatogenese zu ermöglichen.

Results:

https://elib.tiho-hannover.de/receive/tiho_mods_00009673

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/3/1108