Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine
Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine

Immunology and infection research

Development and testing of anti-infective drugs against bacteria and viruses

Development of anti-infective drugs

The development, formulation, and mode of delivery of anti-infective substances are current research topics at the institute. The expertise in formulation development is being further expanded and the development and production of anti-infectives for inhaled administration as drug aerosols is being pushed.

As far as bacterial infections are concerned, Fraunhofer ITEM has a special focus on the development of manufacturing processes for bacteriophages – in this field the institute is at the cutting edge. Fraunhofer ITEM researchers produce phages as investigational medicinal products and establish models for safety and efficacy testing.

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Mimicking infections in lung slices for efficacy testing of drugs: Due to the proximity to the Hannover Medical School, Fraunhofer ITEM researchers in Hannover have direct access to human lung tissue from patients who have undergone surgery, can prepare viable lung slices from this tissue and cultivate these in the laboratory.

Early detection and individualized treatment of immunological diseases

Precision lung slices are lifted from a petri dish using an inoculation loop.
© Fraunhofer ITEM, Ralf Mohr
The focus is on human organ models and patient materials (here: precision-cut lung slices) in order to further improve the pharmacological and toxicological understanding of human-relevant immune mechanisms.

About eight percent of the population worldwide suffer from immune-mediated diseases. Almost any organ or tissue can be affected. In most cases, immune-mediated diseases are treated symptomatically with drugs that non-specifically suppress the patient’s immune system. Therapies that eliminate the cause of the disease and, ideally, are individualized are hardly available at present. There is a great need for research, both on pathophysiological issues and on potential therapeutic targets.

Fraunhofer ITEM has many years of expertise in immunotoxicology and immunopharmacology, centered on the development of biopharmaceuticals and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) in addition to mechanistic research. The focus here is on diseases of the lungs and airways – especially asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), fibrotic lung diseases, allergies and infections. For the investigation of immunomodulatory substances and ATMPs, Fraunhofer ITEM is further developing in-vitro models, innovative testing strategies and endpoints in toxicity studies. Human organ models and materials from patients play a pivotal role in this context to enable an even better pharmacological and toxicological understanding of the immune mechanisms relevant to humans. 

Immunology and infection research: recent projects and highlights

 

© Jonas Ratermann

Multidrug-resistant germs

Weapons against dangerous bacteria are losing effectiveness, while life-threatening infections become increasingly resistant. With few alternatives available, it’s high time for action.

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© Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen

Project iGUARD wins the SPRIN-D Challenge "Broad-Spectrum Antivirals"

Researchers in the iGUARD project are developing RNAi inhalation therapies that can be quickly adapted to different respiratory viruses.

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© Fraunhofer ITEM

Miniature hearts: Heart organoids with their own immune systems

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© Fraunhofer ITEM, Ralf Mohr

Exploring new drug targets to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections

Uridine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase from P. aeruginosa identified as a potential new drug target.

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EU-project ImSAVAR

Under the EU project “imSAVAR” experts from a number of countries and disciplines are working together to improve the prediction of undesirable effects of medicines. 

Numerous findings from the project were published in 2024 in the Journal of Immunology, including on the topic of “Adverse Outcome Pathway for predicting immunotoxic side effects.” To identify key cells and molecules involved in IL-2-induced skin reactions and to improve test systems for predicting immunotoxic side effects, researchers developed an AOP.

 

© MHH, Mania Ackermann

Fraunhofer Attract project »IMMUNITY – Designer immune cells«

In the project “IMMUNITY – designer cells: novel immune cell platforms for health research” induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are investigated. The researchers also intend to develop new manufacturing processes for various fully standardized immune cell products and cell-based immunotherapies. 

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Innovative use of drug candidates for respiratory tract infections

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Project archive

Here you can find more projects sorted by our research and development competences. 

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Publications

  • Abdin, S. M., Paasch, D., Lachmann, N. (2024). CAR macrophages on a fast track to solid tumor therapy. Nature Immunology 25(1): 11-12. doi: 10.1038/s41590-023-01696-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01696-7
  • Chiyyeadu, A., Asgedom, G., Bruhn, M., Rocha, C., Schlegel, T. U., Neumann, T., Galla, M., Barbosa, P. V., Hoffmann, M., Ehrhardt, K., Ha, T. C., Morgan, M., Schoeder, C. T., Pohlmann, S., Kalinke, U., Schambach, A. (2024). A tetravalent bispecific antibody outperforms the combination of its parental antibodies and neutralizes diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants. Clinical Immunology [Epub ahead of print]: 109902. doi: 10.1016/j.clim.2024.109902 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521661624000135?via%3Dihub  - Open Access
  • Diesendorf, V., Roll, V., Geiger, N., Fähr, S., Obernolte, H., Sewald, K., Bodem, J. (2023). Drug-induced phospholipidosis is not correlated with the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 - inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 is cell line-specific. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 13. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1100028 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1100028/full  - Open Access
  • Fleischauer, J., Bastone, A. L., Selich, A., John-Neek, P., Weisskoeppel, L., Schaudien, D., Schambach, A., Rothe, M. (2023). TGFβ Inhibitor A83-01 Enhances Murine HSPC Expansion for Gene Therapy. Cells 12(15): 1978. doi: 10.3390/cells12151978 https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/15/1978  - Open Access
  • Hammad, R., Alzubi, J., Rhiel, M., Chmielewski, K. O., Mosti, L., Rositzka, J., Heugel, M., Lawrenz, J., Pennucci, V., Glaser, B., Fischer, J., Schambach, A., Moritz, T., Lachmann, N., Cornu, T. I., Mussolino, C., Schafer, R., Cathomen, T. (2024). CRISPR-Cas12a for Highly Efficient and Marker-Free Targeted Integration in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Int J Mol Sci 25(2): 985. doi: 10.3390/ijms25020985 https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/2/985 - Open Access
  • Hetzel, M., Gensch, I., Ackermann, M., Lachmann, N. (2024). Adaptation of Human iPSC-Derived Macrophages Toward an Alveolar Macrophage-Like Phenotype Post-Intra-Pulmonary Transfer into Murine Models. Methods in Molecular Biology 2713: 463-479. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3437-0_31 https://link.springer.com/protocol/10.1007/978-1-0716-3437-0_31
  • Hilbold, E., Bär, C., Thum, T. (2023). COVID-19: Insights into long-term manifestations and lockdown impacts. J Sport Health Sci [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2023.02.006 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254623000194?via%3Dihub - Open Access
  • Hou, R., Ye, G., Cheng, X., Shaw, D. E., Bakke, P. S., Caruso, M., Dahlen, B., Dahlen, S. E., Fowler, S. J., Horvath, I., Howarth, P., Krug, N., Montuschi, P., Sanak, M., Sandstrom, T., Auffray, C., De Meulder, B., Sousa, A. R., Adcock, I. M., Fan Chung, K., Sterk, P. J., Skipp, P. J., Schofield, J., Djukanovic, R., U. Biopred Study Group (2023). The role of inflammation in anxiety and depression in the European U-BIOPRED asthma cohorts. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity 111: 249-258. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.04.011 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159123001095?via%3Dihub  - Open Access
  • Nowak, J., Bentele, M., Kutle, I., Zimmermann, K., Luhmann, J. L., Steinemann, D., Kloess, S., Koehl, U., Rossberg, W., Ahmed, A., Schaudien, D., Neubert, L., Kamp, J. C., Kuehnel, M. P., Warnecke, A., Schambach, A., Morgan, M. (2023). CAR-NK Cells Targeting HER1 (EGFR) Show Efficient Anti-Tumor Activity against Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC). Cancers 15(12): 3169. doi: 10.3390/cancers15123169 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/15/12/3169  - Open Access
  • Rudolph, D., Redinger, N., Schwarz, K., Li, F., Hadrich, G., Cohrs, M., Dailey, L. A., Schaible, U. E., Feldmann, C. (2023). Amorphous Drug Nanoparticles for Inhalation Therapy of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis. ACS Nano 17(10): 9478-9486. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.3c01664 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.3c01664
  • Sansonetti, M., Al Soodi, B., Thum, T., Jung, M. (2024). Macrophage-based therapeutic approaches for cardiovascular diseases. Basic Research in Cardiology [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1007/s00395-023-01027-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00395-023-01027-9 - Review
  • Sommer, C., Reamon-Buettner, S. M., Niehof, M., Hildebrand, C. B., Braun, A., Sewald, K., Dehmel, S., Brandenberger, C. (2024). Age-dependent inflammatory response is altered in an ex vivo model of bacterial pneumonia. Respiratory Research 25(1): 15. doi: 10.1186/s12931-023-02609-w https://respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-023-02609-w - Open Access