New method reformulates pathogens into the body’s allies

Any agreement which entails benefits for both sides is called a win-win situation. This is precisely the result intended for the long-term cooperation and licensing agreement which the Institute of Infectiology at the University of Münster has now signed with an American biomedical company. The objective of the collaboration with Innate Biologics in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is to improve the possibilities for treating inflammatory skin diseases and autoimmune diseases - and, in the long term, to develop new medications. The focus is on bacterial effectors - or, more precisely, on a recently discovered approach for immunotherapy. Work is being carried out on a protein family which has been researched by a team led by Dr Christian Rüter and the former Director of the Institute, Prof M. Alexander Schmidt. Infectology involves investigating how exactly bacteria make their hosts - i.e. human beings - ill. If the immune system combats pathogens such as bacteria, it emits messenger substances which expand the blood vessels.