Volkswagen Foundation funds research projects on SARS-CoV-2 and hepatitis E.
Dr. Simon Krooss (left) and Dr. Patrick Behrendt pipetting at a sterile workbench in a cell culture laboratory at MHH. Copyright: Karin Kaiser / MHH.
Stand: 15. Juli 2021
With the initiative "Viral Zoonoses - Innovative Approaches in Drug Development", the Volkswagen Foundation is funding twelve projects nationwide that are concerned with the development of new antiviral therapies. The Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) has been awarded two of these projects with a total funding volume of around one million euros over three years, in cooperation with the TWINCORE Centre for Experimental and Clinical Research, a joint facility of the MHH and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, and the Institute of Virology at the MHH. One project is concerned with the identification and characterisation of monoclonal antibodies against infections with the hepatitis E virus, which causes liver inflammation. The second aims to destroy the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus with the help of so-called gene scissors.
Fighting all hepatitis E strains with antibodies
The hepatitis E virus (HEV) belongs to the group of RNA viruses and is found in pigs, among others. Because the viruses have zoonotic potential, they can also be transmitted to humans and cause liver inflammation. In Germany alone, up to 420.000 people become infected with genetically slightly different HEV strains every year, mostly by eating infected pork. But another genotype, long suspected to be found only in rats, has now been detected in patients after organ transplantation. "Some infected people show no symptoms at all, while others can become severely ill," explains project leader Dr Patrick Behrendt, a doctor at the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology and research group leader at TWINCORE.
So far, there is no approved treatment for HEV infections. The research team is now trying to develop a therapy that is effective against all occurring HEV strains. To do this, the scientists are relying on antibodies that are to be obtained with the help of certain immune cells from recovered HEV patients. The target is the protein envelope of the viruses. The aim is to prevent all the different subgroups of the HEV family from entering the cell. In addition, the antibodies are modified in such a way that they stimulate the immune system to detect and remove infected cells.
Gene scissors to destroy viral genome
Successful vaccines have been developed against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Effective drugs for a targeted COVID-19 treatment, on the other hand, do not yet exist. The research team led by Dr. Simon Krooss wants to change that. The goal is not just to stop the virus in the body, but to destroy it completely. "To do this, we want to use a special gene scissor that only cuts the viral RNA genetic information, but leaves human RNA intact, which acts as a construction manual for certain proteins to convert the information of our genes," explains project leader Dr. Krooss, a scientist at the Department of Gastroenterology. In order to bring the antiviral tool into the respiratory tract, the blueprint is packaged in special gene shuttles and can be easily inhaled via a spray, for example.
In the lungs, the body itself assembles the gene scissors, which are programmed to cut the viral RNA at a very specific location. Depending on the timing of the treatment, an existing infection could be fought or even prevented. "One advantage of this strategy is that we can adapt the scissors quickly and cheaply if the virus mutates," says the scientist. However, the therapy is not only suitable for SARS-CoV-2 mutants. This is because the gene scissors can also be programmed for other virus types against which there are no effective drugs yet.