Research
Many viral infections cannot yet be specifically treated or prevented through vaccinations. Some viruses, especially coronaviruses and influenza viruses, alter their genomes through mutations or recombinations, making previously effective drugs or vaccine-induced antibodies no longer effective against new variants. For example, the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants has required adaptation of available vaccines.
The main focus of our platform is the research of viral infections. Our scientific interest is particularly directed towards the testing of new substances and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of viral infections. To assess the effectiveness of antiviral substances, we have various in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models at our disposal.
Selected publications:
Krüger N, Kronenberger T, Xie H, Rocha C, Pöhlmann S, Su H, Xu Y, Laufer SA, Pillaiyar T. “Discovery of Polyphenolic Natural Products as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro Inhibitors for COVID-19.” Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2023 Jan 28;16(2):190. doi: 10.3390/ph16020190.
Pillaiyar T, Flury P, Krüger N, Su H, Schäkel L, Barbosa Da Silva E, Eppler O, Kronenberger T, Nie T, Luedtke S, Rocha C, Sylvester K, Petry MRI, McKerrow JH, Poso A, Pöhlmann S, Gütschow M, O'Donoghue AJ, Xu Y, Müller CE, Laufer SA. „Small-Molecule Thioesters as SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors: Enzyme Inhibition, Structure-Activity Relationships, Antiviral Activity, and X-ray Structure Determination.” J Med Chem. 2022 Jul 14;65(13):9376-9395. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00636.
Ritzmann F, Chitirala P, Krüger N, Hoffmann M, Zuo W, Lammert F, Smola S, Tov N, Alagem N, Lepper PM, Pöhlmann S, Beisswenger C, Herr C, Bals R; AAT-in-COVID-19 study group. „Therapeutic Application of alpha-1-antitrypsin in COVID-19.” Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2021 Jul 15;204(2):224-227. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202104-0833LE.