{"id":40453,"date":"2026-04-22T10:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/?p=40453"},"modified":"2026-04-22T10:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:07:09","slug":"resist-sets-strong-impulses-at-international-conference-on-individualized-infection-medicine-in-hanover-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/resist-sets-strong-impulses-at-international-conference-on-individualized-infection-medicine-in-hanover-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a Functional Cure for Hepatitis B: Together Hannover-based research makes important contributions to infectious disease medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent study from Hannover, conducted within the framework of the Excellence Cluster RESIST<\/strong>, provides important insights for understanding and the future treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Researchers from Hannover Medical School (MHH), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), TWINCORE, and the Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a joint institution of HZI and MHH and a core component of RESIST<\/strong>, have demonstrated that a previously underappreciated group of immune cells, known as \u03b3\u03b4 T cells, plays a central role in controlling viral infection. The study was published in the journal Gut<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u03b3\u03b4 T cells are capable of specifically recognizing and eliminating infected cells via antibody-mediated mechanisms. These findings are particularly relevant in the context of developing new therapeutic strategies aimed at achieving a functional cure for hepatitis B. While current therapies suppress the virus, long-term immunological control of the infection is rarely achieved. \u201cThe mechanisms we have now identified open up new possibilities to specifically strengthen the body\u2019s own immune response and thus take a decisive step towards a cure,\u201d explains Prof. Anke Kraft<\/strong>, co-head of the Department of \u201cImmunology of Viral Hepatitis and Infections in Liver Cirrhosis\u201d at CiiM and an active member of the RESIST Excellence Cluster<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At the core of the study, led by Prof. Anke Kraft<\/strong>, Prof. Markus Cornberg<\/strong>, and Prof. Yannic Bartsch<\/strong>, is not only the scientific discovery itself, but also the underlying research structure as actively fostered within the RESIST Excellence Cluster<\/strong>. The work exemplifies the successful integration of clinical cohorts, experimental models, and immunological expertise. \u201cWe standardized patient data and samples from MHH via CiiM and combined them with innovative functional models at TWINCORE, along with highly specialized expertise in the field of \u03b3\u03b4 T cells,\u201d explains Prof. Markus Cornberg<\/strong>, co-head of the Department of \u201cImmunology of Viral Hepatitis and Infections in Liver Cirrhosis\u201d and co-director of CiiM. This close integration is a central element of the RESIST Excellence Cluster<\/strong>, which specifically enables and systematically advances such interdisciplinary approaches. The study demonstrates how the RESIST<\/strong> framework allows for the identification of new immunological principles while simultaneously placing them in a clinical context.<\/p>\n

\u201cA functional cure for hepatitis B requires a deep understanding of antiviral immunity,\u201d emphasizes Prof. Yannic Bartsch<\/strong>, head of the junior research group \u201cAntiviral Antibody Omics\u201d at TWINCORE and a member of the RESIST network<\/strong>. \u201cOur findings show that previously underappreciated immune cell types can play a decisive role in this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

This work underscores the strategic importance of Hannover as an internationally visible center for individualized infection medicine and highlights how the close collaboration between MHH, HZI, TWINCORE, and CiiM within the RESIST Excellence Cluster<\/strong> is opening up new avenues for the treatment of chronic viral infections.<\/p>\n

Photo: CiiM<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>
Click here for the RESIST newsletter<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":40459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40457,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40453\/revisions\/40457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resist-cluster.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}