TY  - JOUR
A1  - Herrmann, Martin J.
A1  - Beier, Jennifer S.
A1  - Simons, Bibiane
A1  - Polak, Thomas
T1  - Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of the Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus Attenuates Skin Conductance Responses to Unpredictable Threat Conditions
JF  - Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
N2  - Patients with panic and post-traumatic stress disorders seem to show increased psychophysiological reactions to conditions of unpredictable (U) threat, which has been discussed as a neurobiological marker of elevated levels of sustained fear in these disorders. Interestingly, a recent study found that the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) is correlated to the successful regulation of sustained fear during U threat. Therefore this study aimed to examine the potential use of non-invasive brain stimulation to foster the rIFG by means of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in order to reduce psychophysiological reactions to U threat. Twenty six participants were randomly assigned into an anodal and sham stimulation group in a double-blinded manner. Anodal and cathodal electrodes (7 * 5 cm) were positioned right frontal to target the rIFG. Stimulation intensity was I = 2 mA applied for 20 min during a task including U threat conditions (NPU-task). The effects of the NPU paradigm were measured by assessing the emotional startle modulation and the skin conductance response (SCR) at the outset of the different conditions. We found a significant interaction effect of condition × tDCS for the SCR (F(2,48) = 6.3, p < 0.01) without main effects of condition and tDCS. Post hoc tests revealed that the increase in SCR from neutral (N) to U condition was significantly reduced in verum compared to the sham tDCS group (t(24) = 3.84, p < 0.001). Our results emphasize the causal role of rIFG for emotional regulation and the potential use of tDCS to reduce apprehension during U threat conditions and therefore as a treatment for anxiety disorders.
KW  - transcranial direct current stimulation
KW  - emotional regulation
KW  - sustained fear
KW  - right inferior frontalgyrus
KW  - NPU
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-146486
VL  - 10
IS  - 352
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Tuchscherr, Lorena
A1  - Bischoff, Markus
A1  - Lattar, Santiago M.
A1  - Noto Llana, Mariangeles
A1  - Pförtner, Henrike
A1  - Niemann, Silke
A1  - Geraci, Jennifer
A1  - Van de Vyver, Hélène
A1  - Fraunholz, Martin J.
A1  - Cheung, Ambrose L.
A1  - Herrmann, Mathias
A1  - Völker, Uwe
A1  - Sordelli, Daniel O.
A1  - Peters, Georg
A1  - Loeffler, Bettina
T1  - Sigma factor SigB is crucial to mediate Staphylococcus aureus adaptation during chronic infections
JF  - PLoS Pathogens
N2  - Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a range of infections from acute invasive to chronic and difficult-to-treat. Infection strategies associated with persisting S. aureus infections are bacterial host cell invasion and the bacterial ability to dynamically change phenotypes from the aggressive wild-type to small colony variants (SCVs), which are adapted for intracellular long-term persistence. The underlying mechanisms of the bacterial switching and adaptation mechanisms appear to be very dynamic, but are largely unknown. Here, we analyzed the role and the crosstalk of the global S. aureus regulators agr, sarA and SigB by generating single, double and triple mutants, and testing them with proteome analysis and in different in vitro and in vivo infection models. We were able to demonstrate that SigB is the crucial factor for adaptation in chronic infections. During acute infection, the bacteria require the simultaneous action of the agr and sarA loci to defend against invading immune cells by causing inflammation and cytotoxicity and to escape from phagosomes in their host cells that enable them to settle an infection at high bacterial density. To persist intracellularly the bacteria subsequently need to silence agr and sarA. Indeed agr and sarA deletion mutants expressed a much lower number of virulence factors and could persist at high numbers intracellularly. SigB plays a crucial function to promote bacterial intracellular persistence. In fact, \(\Delta\)sigB-mutants did not generate SCVs and were completely cleared by the host cells within a few days. In this study we identified SigB as an essential factor that enables the bacteria to switch from the highly aggressive phenotype that settles an acute infection to a silent SCV-phenotype that allows for long-term intracellular persistence. Consequently, the SigB-operon represents a possible target to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies against chronic and therapy-refractory infections.
KW  - gene regulator agr
KW  - endothelial cells
KW  - modulates virulence
KW  - death pathway sar locus
KW  - factor B
KW  - small-colony variants
KW  - alpha-toxin
KW  - epithelial cells
KW  - in vitro
Y1  - 2015
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143419
VL  - 11
IS  - 4
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hennessen, Fabienne
A1  - Miethke, Marcus
A1  - Zaburannyi, Nestor
A1  - Loose, Maria
A1  - Lukežič, Tadeja
A1  - Bernecker, Steffen
A1  - Hüttel, Stephan
A1  - Jansen, Rolf
A1  - Schmiedel, Judith
A1  - Fritzenwanker, Moritz
A1  - Imirzalioglu, Can
A1  - Vogel, Jörg
A1  - Westermann, Alexander J.
A1  - Hesterkamp, Thomas
A1  - Stadler, Marc
A1  - Wagenlehner, Florian
A1  - Petković, Hrvoje
A1  - Herrmann, Jennifer
A1  - Müller, Rolf
T1  - Amidochelocardin overcomes resistance mechanisms exerted on tetracyclines and natural chelocardin
JF  - Antibiotics
N2  - The reassessment of known but neglected natural compounds is a vital strategy for providing novel lead structures urgently needed to overcome antimicrobial resistance. Scaffolds with resistance-breaking properties represent the most promising candidates for a successful translation into future therapeutics. Our study focuses on chelocardin, a member of the atypical tetracyclines, and its bioengineered derivative amidochelocardin, both showing broad-spectrum antibacterial activity within the ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) panel. Further lead development of chelocardins requires extensive biological and chemical profiling to achieve favorable pharmaceutical properties and efficacy. This study shows that both molecules possess resistance-breaking properties enabling the escape from most common tetracycline resistance mechanisms. Further, we show that these compounds are potent candidates for treatment of urinary tract infections due to their in vitro activity against a large panel of multidrug-resistant uropathogenic clinical isolates. In addition, the mechanism of resistance to natural chelocardin was identified as relying on efflux processes, both in the chelocardin producer Amycolatopsis sulphurea and in the pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. Resistance development in Klebsiella led primarily to mutations in ramR, causing increased expression of the acrAB-tolC efflux pump. Most importantly, amidochelocardin overcomes this resistance mechanism, revealing not only the improved activity profile but also superior resistance-breaking properties of this novel antibacterial compound.
KW  - chelocardins
KW  - atypical tetracyclines
KW  - broad-spectrum antibiotics
KW  - clinical isolates
KW  - uropathogens
KW  - urinary tract infection (UTI)
KW  - resistance-breaking properties
KW  - mechanism of resistance
KW  - AcrAB-TolC efflux pump
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-213149
SN  - 2079-6382
VL  - 9
IS  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Herrmann, Marietta
A1  - Hildebrand, Maria
A1  - Menzel, Ursula
A1  - Fahy, Niamh
A1  - Alini, Mauro
A1  - Lang, Siegmund
A1  - Benneker, Lorin
A1  - Verrier, Sophie
A1  - Stoddart, Martin J.
A1  - Bara, Jennifer J.
T1  - Phenotypic characterization of bone marrow mononuclear cells and derived stromal cell populations from human iliac crest, vertebral body and femoral head
JF  - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
N2  - (1) In vitro, bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSCs) demonstrate inter-donor phenotypic variability, which presents challenges for the development of regenerative therapies. Here, we investigated whether the frequency of putative BMSC sub-populations within the freshly isolated mononuclear cell fraction of bone marrow is phenotypically predictive for the in vitro derived stromal cell culture. (2) Vertebral body, iliac crest, and femoral head bone marrow were acquired from 33 patients (10 female and 23 male, age range 14–91). BMSC sub-populations were identified within freshly isolated mononuclear cell fractions based on cell-surface marker profiles. Stromal cells were expanded in monolayer on tissue culture plastic. Phenotypic assessment of in vitro derived cell cultures was performed by examining growth kinetics, chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic differentiation. (3) Gender, donor age, and anatomical site were neither predictive for the total yield nor the population doubling time of in vitro derived BMSC cultures. The abundance of freshly isolated progenitor sub-populations (CD45−CD34−CD73+, CD45−CD34−CD146+, NG2+CD146+) was not phenotypically predictive of derived stromal cell cultures in terms of growth kinetics nor plasticity. BMSCs derived from iliac crest and vertebral body bone marrow were more responsive to chondrogenic induction, forming superior cartilaginous tissue in vitro, compared to those isolated from femoral head. (4) The identification of discrete progenitor populations in bone marrow by current cell-surface marker profiling is not predictive for subsequently derived in vitro BMSC cultures. Overall, the iliac crest and the vertebral body offer a more reliable tissue source of stromal progenitor cells for cartilage repair strategies compared to femoral head.
KW  - bone marrow stromal cells
KW  - MSC
KW  - pericytes
KW  - femoral head
KW  - vertebral body
KW  - iliac crest
KW  - chondrogenesis
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-285054
SN  - 1422-0067
VL  - 20
IS  - 14
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - El-Helou, Sabine M.
A1  - Biegner, Anika-Kerstin
A1  - Bode, Sebastian
A1  - Ehl, Stephan R.
A1  - Heeg, Maximilian
A1  - Maccari, Maria E.
A1  - Ritterbusch, Henrike
A1  - Speckmann, Carsten
A1  - Rusch, Stephan
A1  - Scheible, Raphael
A1  - Warnatz, Klaus
A1  - Atschekzei, Faranaz
A1  - Beider, Renata
A1  - Ernst, Diana
A1  - Gerschmann, Stev
A1  - Jablonka, Alexandra
A1  - Mielke, Gudrun
A1  - Schmidt, Reinhold E.
A1  - Schürmann, Gesine
A1  - Sogkas, Georgios
A1  - Baumann, Ulrich H.
A1  - Klemann, Christian
A1  - Viemann, Dorothee
A1  - Bernuth, Horst von
A1  - Krüger, Renate
A1  - Hanitsch, Leif G.
A1  - Scheibenbogen, Carmen M.
A1  - Wittke, Kirsten
A1  - Albert, Michael H.
A1  - Eichinger, Anna
A1  - Hauck, Fabian
A1  - Klein, Christoph
A1  - Rack-Hoch, Anita
A1  - Sollinger, Franz M.
A1  - Avila, Anne
A1  - Borte, Michael
A1  - Borte, Stephan
A1  - Fasshauer, Maria
A1  - Hauenherm, Anja
A1  - Kellner, Nils
A1  - Müller, Anna H.
A1  - Ülzen, Anett
A1  - Bader, Peter
A1  - Bakhtiar, Shahrzad
A1  - Lee, Jae-Yun
A1  - Heß, Ursula
A1  - Schubert, Ralf
A1  - Wölke, Sandra
A1  - Zielen, Stefan
A1  - Ghosh, Sujal
A1  - Laws, Hans-Juergen
A1  - Neubert, Jennifer
A1  - Oommen, Prasad T.
A1  - Hönig, Manfred
A1  - Schulz, Ansgar
A1  - Steinmann, Sandra
A1  - Klaus, Schwarz
A1  - Dückers, Gregor
A1  - Lamers, Beate
A1  - Langemeyer, Vanessa
A1  - Niehues, Tim
A1  - Shai, Sonu
A1  - Graf, Dagmar
A1  - Müglich, Carmen
A1  - Schmalzing, Marc T.
A1  - Schwaneck, Eva C.
A1  - Tony, Hans-Peter
A1  - Dirks, Johannes
A1  - Haase, Gabriele
A1  - Liese, Johannes G.
A1  - Morbach, Henner
A1  - Foell, Dirk
A1  - Hellige, Antje
A1  - Wittkowski, Helmut
A1  - Masjosthusmann, Katja
A1  - Mohr, Michael
A1  - Geberzahn, Linda
A1  - Hedrich, Christian M.
A1  - Müller, Christiane
A1  - Rösen-Wolff, Angela
A1  - Roesler, Joachim
A1  - Zimmermann, Antje
A1  - Behrends, Uta
A1  - Rieber, Nikolaus
A1  - Schauer, Uwe
A1  - Handgretinger, Rupert
A1  - Holzer, Ursula
A1  - Henes, Jörg
A1  - Kanz, Lothar
A1  - Boesecke, Christoph
A1  - Rockstroh, Jürgen K.
A1  - Schwarze-Zander, Carolynne
A1  - Wasmuth, Jan-Christian
A1  - Dilloo, Dagmar
A1  - Hülsmann, Brigitte
A1  - Schönberger, Stefan
A1  - Schreiber, Stefan
A1  - Zeuner, Rainald
A1  - Ankermann, Tobias
A1  - Bismarck, Philipp von
A1  - Huppertz, Hans-Iko
A1  - Kaiser-Labusch, Petra
A1  - Greil, Johann
A1  - Jakoby, Donate
A1  - Kulozik, Andreas E.
A1  - Metzler, Markus
A1  - Naumann-Bartsch, Nora
A1  - Sobik, Bettina
A1  - Graf, Norbert
A1  - Heine, Sabine
A1  - Kobbe, Robin
A1  - Lehmberg, Kai
A1  - Müller, Ingo
A1  - Herrmann, Friedrich
A1  - Horneff, Gerd
A1  - Klein, Ariane
A1  - Peitz, Joachim
A1  - Schmidt, Nadine
A1  - Bielack, Stefan
A1  - Groß-Wieltsch, Ute
A1  - Classen, Carl F.
A1  - Klasen, Jessica
A1  - Deutz, Peter
A1  - Kamitz, Dirk
A1  - Lassy, Lisa
A1  - Tenbrock, Klaus
A1  - Wagner, Norbert
A1  - Bernbeck, Benedikt
A1  - Brummel, Bastian
A1  - Lara-Villacanas, Eusebia
A1  - Münstermann, Esther
A1  - Schneider, Dominik T.
A1  - Tietsch, Nadine
A1  - Westkemper, Marco
A1  - Weiß, Michael
A1  - Kramm, Christof
A1  - Kühnle, Ingrid
A1  - Kullmann, Silke
A1  - Girschick, Hermann
A1  - Specker, Christof
A1  - Vinnemeier-Laubenthal, Elisabeth
A1  - Haenicke, Henriette
A1  - Schulz, Claudia
A1  - Schweigerer, Lothar
A1  - Müller, Thomas G.
A1  - Stiefel, Martina
A1  - Belohradsky, Bernd H.
A1  - Soetedjo, Veronika
A1  - Kindle, Gerhard
A1  - Grimbacher, Bodo
T1  - The German national registry of primary immunodeficiencies (2012-2017)
JF  - Frontiers in Immunology
N2  - Introduction: The German PID-NET registry was founded in 2009, serving as the first national registry of patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) in Germany. It is part of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) registry. The primary purpose of the registry is to gather data on the epidemiology, diagnostic delay, diagnosis, and treatment of PIDs. 

Methods: Clinical and laboratory data was collected from 2,453 patients from 36 German PID centres in an online registry. Data was analysed with the software Stata® and Excel. 

Results: The minimum prevalence of PID in Germany is 2.72 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among patients aged 1-25, there was a clear predominance of males. The median age of living patients ranged between 7 and 40 years, depending on the respective PID. Predominantly antibody disorders were the most prevalent group with 57% of all 2,453 PID patients (including 728 CVID patients). A gene defect was identified in 36% of patients. Familial cases were observed in 21% of patients. The age of onset for presenting symptoms ranged from birth to late adulthood (range 0-88 years). Presenting symptoms comprised infections (74%) and immune dysregulation (22%). Ninety-three patients were diagnosed without prior clinical symptoms. Regarding the general and clinical diagnostic delay, no PID had undergone a slight decrease within the last decade. However, both, SCID and hyper IgE-syndrome showed a substantial improvement in shortening the time between onset of symptoms and genetic diagnosis. Regarding treatment, 49% of all patients received immunoglobulin G (IgG) substitution (70%-subcutaneous; 29%-intravenous; 1%-unknown). Three-hundred patients underwent at least one hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Five patients had gene therapy. 

Conclusion: The German PID-NET registry is a precious tool for physicians, researchers, the pharmaceutical industry, politicians, and ultimately the patients, for whom the outcomes will eventually lead to a more timely diagnosis and better treatment.
KW  - registry for primary immunodeficiency
KW  - primary immunodeficiency (PID)
KW  - German PID-NET registry
KW  - PID prevalence
KW  - European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID)
KW  - IgG substitution therapy
KW  - CVID
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226629
VL  - 10
ER  -