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LOEWE Diffusible Signals

How do bacteria communicate with human inflammatory cells? This topic is at the center of the LOEWE research cluster "Diffusible Signals" (Impact of diffusible signals at human cell-microbe interfaces). The Hessian state government is funding "Diffusible Signals" in the 13th season of the Hessian state offensive for the development of scientific and economic excellence ("Landesoffensive zur Entwicklung wissenschaftlicher und ökonomischer Exzellenz" - LOEWE) with a total of about 4.8 million euros.

Prof. Leon Schulte is involved in subprojects D2.

Subproject D2 - Interspecies RNA Networks

K. pneumoniae is one of the most common hospital germs and assumes new antibiotic resistance relatively quickly. As a result, hospitalized patients increasingly suffer from untreatable infections. The course of such infections is determined by mutual adaptations and reactions of host and pathogen. Using the Dual RNA-Seq method developed by us, we can reconstruct this interplay at the level of cross-species RNA networks. Our Dual RNA-Seq preliminary work with K. pneumoniae shows on the one hand that macrophages react differently after contact with the pathogen than with apathogenic bacterial stimuli, and on the other hand that the pathogen massively upregulates several transport systems for the absorption of diffusible substances such as heme, sulfates, amino acids, sugars, inositol and cobalamins. We will investigate which RNA regulatory circuits control the absorption of diffusible substances and thus the host colonization. This work will reveal urgently needed targets for the treatment of K. pneumoniae infections.