@article{WhiteSpringerWiseetal.2022, author = {White, P. Lewis and Springer, Jan and Wise, Matt P. and Einsele, Hermann and L{\"o}ffler, Claudia and Seif, Michelle and Prommersberger, Sabrina and Backx, Matthijs and L{\"o}ffler, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {A clinical case of COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA), illustrating the challenges in diagnosis (despite overwhelming mycological evidence)}, series = {Journal of Fungi}, volume = {8}, journal = {Journal of Fungi}, number = {1}, issn = {2309-608X}, doi = {10.3390/jof8010081}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-302438}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in large numbers of patients requiring critical care management. With the established association between severe respiratory virus infection and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (7.6\% for COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA)), the pandemic places a significant number of patients at potential risk from secondary invasive fungal disease. We described a case of CAPA with substantial supporting mycological evidence, highlighting the need to employ strategic diagnostic algorithms and weighted definitions to improve the accuracy in diagnosing CAPA.}, language = {en} } @article{SeifEinseleLoeffler2019, author = {Seif, Michelle and Einsele, Hermann and L{\"o}ffler, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {CAR T cells beyond cancer: hope for immunomodulatory therapy of infectious diseases}, series = {Frontiers in Immunology}, volume = {10}, journal = {Frontiers in Immunology}, number = {2711}, issn = {1664-3224}, doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2019.02711}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-195596}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Infectious diseases are still a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Despite the progress in drug development, the occurrence of microbial resistance is still a significant concern. Alternative therapeutic strategies are required for non-responding or relapsing patients. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells has revolutionized cancer immunotherapy, providing a potential therapeutic option for patients who are unresponsive to standard treatments. Recently two CAR T cell therapies, Yescarta® (Kite Pharma/Gilead) and Kymriah® (Novartis) were approved by the FDA for the treatments of certain types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively. The success of adoptive CAR T cell therapy for cancer has inspired researchers to develop CARs for the treatment of infectious diseases. Here, we review the main achievements in CAR T cell therapy targeting viral infections, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, Human Cytomegalovirus, and opportunistic fungal infections such as invasive aspergillosis.}, language = {en} } @article{SchmidtEbnerRosenetal.2020, author = {Schmidt, Stefanie and Ebner, Friederike and Rosen, Kerstin and Kniemeyer, Olaf and Brakhage, Axel A. and L{\"o}ffler, J{\"u}rgen and Seif, Michelle and Springer, Jan and Schlosser, Josephine and Scharek-Tedin, Lydia and Scheffold, Alexander and Bacher, Petra and K{\"u}hl, Anja A. and R{\"o}sler, Uwe and Hartmann, Susanne}, title = {The domestic pig as human-relevant large animal model to study adaptive antifungal immune responses against airborne Aspergillus fumigatus}, series = {European Journal of Immunology}, volume = {50}, journal = {European Journal of Immunology}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1002/eji.201948524}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-216085}, pages = {1712 -- 1728}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Pulmonary mucosal immune response is critical for preventing opportunistic Aspergillus fumigatus infections. Although fungus-specific CD4\(^{+}\) T cells in blood are described to reflect the actual host-pathogen interaction status, little is known about Aspergillus-specific pulmonary T-cell responses. Here, we exploit the domestic pig as human-relevant large animal model and introduce antigen-specific T-cell enrichment in pigs to address Aspergillus-specific T cells in the lung compared to peripheral blood. In healthy, environmentally Aspergillus-exposed pigs, the fungus-specific T cells are detectable in blood in similar frequencies as observed in healthy humans and exhibit a Th1 phenotype. Exposing pigs to 10\(^{6}\) cfu/m\(^{3}\) conidia induces a long-lasting accumulation of Aspergillus-specific Th1 cells locally in the lung and also systemically. Temporary immunosuppression during Aspergillus-exposure showed a drastic reduction in the lung-infiltrating antifungal T-cell responses more than 2 weeks after abrogation of the suppressive treatment. This was reflected in blood, but to a much lesser extent. In conclusion, by using the human-relevant large animal model the pig, this study highlights that the blood clearly reflects the mucosal fungal-specific T-cell reactivity in environmentally exposed as well as experimentally exposed healthy pigs. But, immunosuppression significantly impacts the mucosal site in contrast to the initial systemic immune response.}, language = {en} }