Almost a year ago, RESIST researcher Prof. Pietschmann from the Twincore Institute for Experimental Virology and his team developed a test system that can be used to precisely measure the immune response against the broad spectrum of hepatitis C viruses (HCV). With the help of this test system, it has now been possible to isolate HCV antibodies in a study that attack an unusually large number of viral variants simultaneously – so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies. These antibodies reveal where the virus is particularly sensitive, which is another step on the way to developing a hepatitis C vaccine. The study, in which RESIST researcher Prof. Krey from the University of Lübeck is also involved , was led by the team of Prof. Dr. Florian Klein, University Hospital Cologne and German Center for Infection Research. The results were published in the highly respected journal Immunity.
The figure shows in the form of a crystal structure the binding of an antibody (red and green) to the HCV surface protein “E2” (purple). © Timm Weber
The publication can be found here.
The DZIF press release (in german) can be found here.