1.4 million people die of tuberculosis worldwide each year. Multidrug-resistant strains pose a particular problem because they are so difficult to treat. In a study in Georgia, Basel researchers have demonstrated that prisons play a key role in transmission. The consequences ripple out to Switzerland as well.
Immune cells specialize to ensure the most efficient defense against viruses and other pathogens. Researchers at the University of Basel have shed light on this specialization of T cells and shown that it occurs differently in the context of an acute and a chronic infection. This could be relevant for new approaches against chronic viral infections.
Despite significant progress in prevention and therapy, millions of people still get infected with HIV every year. The main burden of HIV/AIDS falls on Africa. To contain the epidemic, innovative methods are needed to enable early diagnosis of all those affected. A Basel research group has now been able to significantly improve the success of "door-to-door" testing campaigns thanks to HIV self-tests.
Lopinavir is a drug against HIV, hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and rheumatism. Until recently, both drugs were regarded as potential agents in the fight against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. A research group from the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel has now discovered that the concentration of the two drugs in the lungs of Covid-19 patients is not sufficient to fight the virus.
Helper T cells play an important role in the immune response against pathogens. The role of a particular subset of these immune cells was previously unclear. It’s now been shown that T follicular helper cells live much longer than previously thought and contribute to long-term immunity. Researchers at the University of Basel’s Department of Biomedicine reported these findings in Science Immunology.
On Friday, 29 November 2019, the University of Basel celebrated its Dies Academicus for the 559th time. The seven new honorary doctors include oboist and composer Heinz Holliger and Zurich AIDS physician Ruedi Lüthy. Other honorary doctorates went to pastor Martin Stingelin, entrepreneur Klaus Endress and three researchers from the US: lawyer Bryan A. Stevenson, cell biologist Randy W. Schekman and psychologist Jerome R. Busemeyer.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has approved the financing of four new assistant professorships at the University of Basel as part of the newly announced Eccellenza fellowships. At the same time, two Eccellenza Grants have also been approved, bringing a total of around CHF 9.5 million in third-party funding to Basel.
Within the immune system, so called plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play a relevant role in the protection against viral infections. However, pDCs have also been associated with auto immune syndromes. A research team of the University of Basel could finally solve the puzzle about of their origin.
Scientists at the University of Basel discovered a fundamental new mechanism explaining the inadequate immune defense against chronic viral infection. These results may open up new avenues for vaccine development.