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A new highly effective thrombosis inhibitor is in sight: Würzburg scientists present promising inhibitor EMA601 for efficient prevention and treatment of arterial thrombosis and inflammatory reactions without increased bleeding risk. An unhealthy lifestyle, diseases or injuries, genetic predisposition, and increased coagulation tendency can promote the formation of thrombi in blood vessels.

In a first, a Bochum-based team has produced a substance capable of sending cancer cells into ferroptosis, that is a specific form of cell death. This could pave the way for the development of new drugs. Conventional cancer drugs work by triggering apoptosis, that is programmed cell death, in tumor cells.

A substance derived from the plant Ardisia crenata works in a different way than existing drugs. And in doing so, it is highly effective. Pulmonary hypertension is a very serious disease that leads to heart failure and death in many patients. Searching for new treatment options, a team headed by Professor Daniela Wenzel and Alexander Seidinger from the Department of Systems Physiology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, tested the plant substance FR900359 - referred to as FR by the researchers.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are found throughout the human body and are involved in many complex signalling pathways. Despite their importance in many biological processes, the central mechanism of G protein-coupling and the associated signal transmission is not yet understood. A team of researchers from Leipzig University has succeeded in understanding the mechanism of signal transmission through an adrenaline-binding receptor at the atomic level.

A low vitamin B6 level has negative effects on brain performance. A research team from Würzburg University Medicine has now found a way to delay the degradation of the vitamin. Vitamin B6 is important for brain metabolism. Accordingly, in various mental illnesses, a low vitamin B6 level is associated with impaired memory and learning abilities, with a depressive mood, and even with genuine depression.

Research team at the University of Freiburg identifies new membrane protein Sd-Amt1 A team led by Freiburg biochemist Susana Andrade has characterised a new membrane protein that allows microorganisms to repurpose ammonium transporters (Amts) as receptors. Ammonium transporters clearly distinguish between ammonium, potassium and water.

What mucins can do in medicine They are in our eyes, on our tongues, and in our stomachs: Protective layers of mucus, a slime consisting primarily of mucins. These are molecules which bind water to form a natural lubricant. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) use them to develop coatings for contact lenses and intubation tubes, healing plasters for use on the tongue and intestines, and much more.

Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin "defanging" bacteria, rendering them harmless In most cases, antibiotics are a reliable form of protection against bacterial infections. They have saved billions of human lives since their introduction. This protection, however, is threatened by bacteria's resistance to classical antibiotics and by their aggressive pathogenicity.

Twenty years ago, a drug candidate was rejected due to its side effects. Researchers have now figured out how to potentially make a successor molecule more selective. An increasing number of bacteria have become resistant to many commonly used antibiotics. Researchers from Bochum have discovered a fresh opportunity for a potential active molecule whose predecessor was rejected: By studying its interaction with the bacterial target protein very precisely in three dimensions, they identified a previously undetected point of attack that could be targeted by this compound.

A newly identified compound prevents a cellular enzyme from cleaving the virus particle. As a result, the virus can no longer infect cells. At present, there is no specific active substance against hepatitis E. As the disease kills 70,000 people every year, researchers are actively searching for one.

Antibacterial substance from staphylococci discovered with new mechanism of action against natural competitors Many bacteria produce substances to gain an advantage over competitors in their highly competitive natural environment. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have discovered a new so-called lantibiotic, namely epilancin A37.

Newly discovered mechanism could significantly improve cancer immunotherapies Tumors actively prevent the formation of immune responses by so-called cytotoxic T cells, which are essential in combating cancer. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) Hospital have now uncovered for the first time how this exactly happens.

CAR T cell therapy has proven effective in treating various haematological cancers. However, not all patients respond equally well to treatment. In a recent clinical study, researchers from the University of Leipzig Medical Center and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology identified several biomarkers that are associated with the response to CAR T cell therapy in multiple myeloma, a malignant tumour disease in the bone marrow.

An international research team has investigated the biosynthesis of psilocybin, the main ingredient of hallucinogenic mushrooms. They gained new insights into the structure and reaction mechanism of the enzyme PsiM. It plays a key role in the production of psilocybin. The results of the study were published in the journal "Nature Communications".

Team from the University of Münster presents computer-aided method / Counteracting subjective bias in studies on the production of new chemical compounds Chemists often develop and optimise new chemical reactions using so-called model systems, i.e. simple, easily accessible substrates.

Researchers from the Institute of Experimental Molecular Imaging at RWTH Aachen University publish results on the identification of suitable tumor patients in clinical trials for nanoparticle-based cancer therapies . Nanomedical formulations have attracted increasing public attention since the development of coronavirus vaccines.

Too much niacin increases the risk of cardiovascular disease Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is freely available as a dietary supplement . Why do some people have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke even without classic risk factors such as high cholesterol? An international research team has taken an open-ended look at what circulates in the bloodstream of affected people and distinguishes them from others.

Joint research led by scientists at Freie Universität Berlin reaches another milestone Rocketvax AG, together with the German Research Foundation (DFG), has financially supported a study carried out as part of a joint project of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF, National Research Program "Covid-19," NRP 78) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) "Recoding the SARS-CoV-2 Genome - A Multidisciplinary Approach to Generate Live-Attenuated Coronavirus Vaccines.

University of Bonn chemists invent technique for producing variants of natural substances To synthesize potential drugs or natural products, you need natural substances in specific mirror-image variants and with a high degree of purity. For the first time, chemists at the University of Bonn have succeeded in producing all'eight possible variants of polypropionate building blocks from a single starting material in a relatively straightforward process.

Heidelberg neurobiologists successfully test novel drug principle in a mouse model and in brain organoids of ALS patients A new pharmacological inhibitor can intervene in a central cell death mechanism that is responsible for the death of motor neurons and hence important for the progression of the motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).