Bacteria

Cardiovascular conditions affect life in the intestines. But the opposite is also true: Bacteria in the gut influence the course of cardiovascular disease. A team led by MDC researcher Sofia Forslund reports in "Nature" on the opportunities and risks this presents as well as the role played by drugs.

A chlamydia infection triggers an inflammatory response at the cellular level. MDC researchers conducted experiments in cell cultures to examine the role that the enzyme GBP1 plays in this response. They have now published their findings in Cell Reports.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have an altered gut microbiome composition and produce less of a certain fatty acid. This was reported by a team of researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, the MDC and the ECRC in Cell. Their findings show that propionic acid might be relevant for MS immunotherapy.

Harnessing jumping genes to advance gene-therapy cancer treatment: In an effort to optimize the Sleeping Beauty system, the MDCell – Helmholtz Innovation Lab is extending its collaboration with PlasmidFactory.

A new research group led by Dr. Nicola Wilck is investigating the influence of the gut microbiome on high blood pressure. The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the project with an ERC Starting Grant of €1.5 million over five years.

How exactly does gut bacteria affect our health? This is what the Swedish bioinformatician Sofia Forslund is trying to figure out. She also wants to develop a software that helps keep people from getting sick.

The fatty acid propionate helps defend against the effects of high blood pressure, including atherosclerosis and heart tissue remodeling, a study on mice has found. Gut bacteria produce the substance – which calms the immune cells that drive up blood pressure – from natural dietary fiber.

The human gut is teeming with billions of beneficial bacteria. Therapies that use antibiotics often destroy most of them. Whether and how the intestinal flora will subsequently recover has been investigated by a research team that included scientists from the MDC. The results have been published in the scientific journal „Nature Microbiology“.

Common salt reduces the number of certain lactic acid bacteria in the gut of mice and humans according to a study published in Nature by Berlin’s Max Delbrück Center and Charité. This has an impact on immune cells which are partly responsible for autoimmune diseases and hypertension. Probiotics ameliorate the symptoms of disease in mice.

Biomedical research has long been way ahead of the textbooks, says Genentech Vice President Vishva Dixit. In his MDC Lecture, the researcher talked about his fascination with cell death and what it means for research into sepsis.