A5004843696- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications
- Influenza Virus Research Studies
- Machine Learning in Bioinformatics
- Biosensors and Analytical Detection
- Poxvirus research and outbreaks
- Herpesvirus Infections and Treatments
- Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Animal Virus Infections Studies
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Virus-based gene therapy research
- Bacillus and Francisella bacterial research
- Plant Virus Research Studies
- Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications
- Computational Drug Discovery Methods
- Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology
- Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
- Respiratory viral infections research
- vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches
- Ubiquitin and proteasome pathways
- interferon and immune responses
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
Robert Koch Institute
2017-2025
Repeated vaccinations and infections have led to diverse states of hybrid immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in the global population. However, age comorbidities can compromise protection severe disease, antibody-mediated is undercut by viral immune escape mutations. Whether what extent durable T cell responses compensate for reduced humoral immunity, particularly elderly, not been investigated. Here, we utilize SARS-CoV-2-specific pan-coronavirus-derived peptide pools, including or excluding spike...
Abstract High-throughput detection of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 presents a valuable tool for vaccine trials or investigations population immunity. We evaluate the performance first commercial surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT, GenScript Biotech) plaque reduction (PRNT) in convalescent and vaccinated individuals. compare it to five other ELISAs, two which are designed detect antibodies. In 491 pre-vaccination serum samples, sVNT missed 23.6% PRNT-positive samples when...
Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is driven by severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which has led to an enormous burden on patient morbidity and mortality. renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) plays a significant role in various pulmonary diseases. Since SARS-CoV-2 utilizes the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)2 receptor exert its virulence pathogenicity, RAAS of particular importance COVID 19. Methods Our preliminary study...
Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started in late 2019, search for protective vaccines and drug treatments has become mandatory to fight global health emergency. Travel restrictions, social distancing, face masks are suitable counter measures, but may not bring under control because people will inadvertently or at a certain degree of restriction severity duration incompliant with regulations. Even if approved, need antiviral agents against persist. However, unequivocal evidence efficacy been...
The reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 has become one the most important contributions to COVID-19 crisis management. With publication first sequences SARS-CoV-2, several diagnostic PCR assays have been developed and published. In addition in-house market was flooded with numerous commercially available ready-to-use kits, both approaches showing alarming shortages in reagent supply.
Abstract In the recent mpox outbreak, people with human immunodeficiency virus (PWH) were at high risk both for contracting infection and a more severe disease course. We studied cellular humoral immune responses elicited by (n = 5; n 3 PWH) or smallpox vaccination 17; all in cohort of men who have sex men. All PWH successfully treated, stable CD4 counts undetectable HIV viral loads. Eleven 17 vaccinated individuals had received childhood vaccination. this group individuals, 2-dose modified...
Since the global outbreak of Mpox in 2022, interest seroepidemiological and vaccine studies has grown rapidly. One aspect these is detection neutralizing antibodies to causative agent, monkeypox virus (MPXV). Determination using a (micro)-neutralization test (NT) gold standard method, which time consuming labor intensive. Here, we present comparison different methods facilitate MPXV NT analysis resulting establishment an optimized protocol. The protocol based on recombinant eGFP-expressing...
One of the most widely used methods to detect an acute viral infection in clinical specimens is diagnostic real-time polymerase chain reaction. However, because COVID-19 pandemic, mass-spectrometry-based proteomics currently being discussed as a potential method for infections. Because not yet applied routine virus diagnostics, here we discuss its Apart from theoretical considerations, current status and technical limitations are considered. Finally, challenges that have be overcome...
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 infections are characterized by remarkable differences, including infectivity case fatality rate. The underlying mechanisms not well understood, illustrating major knowledge gaps of coronavirus biology. In this study, protein expression the SARS-CoV- SARS-CoV-2-infected human lung epithelial cell line Calu-3 was analyzed using data-independent acquisition-mass spectrometry. This resulted in a comprehensive map infection-related...
Abstract The monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak in 2022 has renewed interest the detection of antibodies against orthopox viruses (OPXV) and MPXV, as serological methods can aid diagnostics are key to epidemiological studies. Here three complementary described with different strengths development evaluation in‐house assays: An immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for specific IgG IgM, an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent higher sample throughput studies a neutralization test detect neutralizing antibodies....
Abstract Background Studies have shown that Omicron breakthrough infections can occur at higher SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels compared to previous variants. Estimating the magnitude of immunological protection induced from COVID-19 vaccination and infection remains important due varying local pandemic dynamics types programmes, particularly among at-risk populations such as health care workers (HCWs). We analysed a follow-up serological survey HCWs tertiary referral hospital in Germany...
SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance is important to adapt infection control measures and estimate the degree of underreporting. Blood donor samples can be used as a proxy for healthy adult population. In repeated cross-sectional study from April 2020 2021, September April/May 2022, 13 blood establishments collected 134,510 anonymised specimens donors in 28 regions across Germany. These were tested antibodies against spike protein nucleocapsid, including neutralising capacity. Seroprevalence was...
Abstract Purpose COViK, a prospective hospital-based multicenter case-control study in Germany, aims to assess the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against severe disease. Here, we report vaccine (VE) COVID-19-caused hospitalization and intensive care treatment during Omicron wave. Methods We analyzed data from 276 cases with 494 control patients recruited 13 hospitals 1 December 2021 5 September 2022. calculated crude confounder-adjusted VE estimates. Results 21% (57/276) were not...
IntroductionThe detection of SARS-CoV-2 with rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) has become an important tool to identify infected people and break infection chains. These RDT are usually based on antigen in a lateral flow approach.AimWe aimed establish comprehensive specimen panel for the decentralised technical evaluation tests.MethodsWhile PCR diagnostics validation assay is well established, there no common strategy tests, including RDT. In this proof-of-principle study we present establishment...
Superspreading events are important drivers of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and long-range (LR) transmission is believed to play a major role. We investigated two choir outbreaks with different attack rates (AR) analyze contribution LR highlight measures for prevention.We conducted retrospective cohort studies obtained demographic, clinical, laboratory contact data, performed serology, whole genome sequencing (WGS), calculated probabilities, measured particle emissions selected members, air...
SARS-CoV-2 cases in Germany increased early March 2020. By April 2020, among health care workers (HCW) were detected across departments at a tertiary hospital Berlin, prompting longitudinal investigation to assess HCW serostatus with an improved testing strategy and associated risk factors.In May/June December HCWs voluntarily provided blood for serology nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal (NP/OP) samples real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) completed questionnaire. A four-tiered serological...
We included 852 patients in a prospectively recruiting multicenter matched case-control study Germany to assess vaccine effectiveness (VE) preventing COVID-19-associated hospitalization during the Delta-variant dominance. The two-dose VE was 89 % (95 CI 84–93 %) overall, 79 with more than two comorbidities and 77 adults aged 60–75 years. A third dose increased 93 all patient-subgroups.
Serological assays measuring antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 are key to describe the epidemiology, pathobiology or induction of immunity after infection vaccination. Of those, multiplex targeting multiple antigens especially helpful as closely related coronaviruses other can be analysed simultaneously from small sample volumes, hereby shedding light on patterns in immune response that would otherwise remain undetected. We established a bead-based 17-plex assay detecting all pathogenic for...
Abstract Immune evasion by escape mutations subverts immunity against SARS-CoV-2. A role of pan-coronavirus for more durable protection is being discussed but has remained understudied. We here investigated the effects age, mutations, and homo-/heterologous vaccination regimens on dominant pan-coronavirus-specific cellular humoral epitope iCope after SARS-CoV-2 infection in detail. In older, quantitatively, qualitatively reduced iCope-reactive CD4 + T cell responses with narrow TCR...
The emergence of Variola virus-like viruses by natural evolution zoonotic Orthopoxviruses, like Cowpox virus (CPXV), is a global health threat. proteasome essential for poxvirus replication, making the viral components interacting with ubiquitin-proteasome system attractive antiviral targets. We show that inhibition impairs CPXV replication prevention uncoating, suggesting uncoating mediated proteasomal degradation core proteins. Although Orthopoxvirus particles contain considerable amounts...
Currently available COVID-19 vaccines include inactivated virus, live attenuated mRNA-based, viral vectored and adjuvanted protein-subunit-based vaccines. All of them contain the spike glycoprotein as main immunogen result in reduced disease severity upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. While we others have shown that mRNA-based vaccination reactivates pre-existing, cross-reactive immunity, effect vector this regard is unknown. Here, studied cellular humoral responses heterologous...
Transcripts are known to be incorporated in particles of DNA viruses belonging the families Herpesviridae and Mimiviridae, but presence transcripts other viruses, such as poxviruses, has not been analyzed yet. Therefore, we first established a next-generation-sequencing (NGS)-based protocol, enabling unbiased identification virus particles. Subsequently, applied our protocol analyze RNA an emerging zoonotic member Poxviridae family, namely Cowpox virus. Our results revealed incorporation 19...
Parallel-reaction monitoring (PRM) using high resolution, accurate mass (HR/AM) analysis on quadrupole-Orbitrap spectrometers, like the Q Exactive, is one of most promising approaches for targeted protein analysis. However, PRM has a limited multiplexing capacity, which depends heavily reproducibility peptide retention times. To overcome these limitations, we aimed to establish an easily applicable data acquisition mode that allows retention-time-independent massive Exactive spectrometers....
DNA viruses, like poxviruses, possess a highly stable genome, suggesting that adaptation of virus particles to specific cell types is not restricted genomic changes. Cowpox viruses are zoonotic poxviruses with an extraordinarily broad host range, demonstrating their adaptive potential in vivo. To elucidate mechanisms we isolated cowpox from rat and passaged them five times human line. Subsequently, analyzed the proteome genome non-passaged virions each passage. While overall viral sequence...
A major part of the analysis parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) data is comparison observed fragment ion intensities to a library spectrum. Classically, these libraries are generated by data-dependent acquisition (DDA). Here, we test Prosit, published deep neural network algorithm, for its applicability in predicting spectral PRM. For this purpose, targeted 1529 precursors derived from synthetic viral peptides and analyzed with Prosit DDA-derived libraries. Viral were chosen as an example,...