Forschungsbereich

Trotz weltweit intensiver Forschung ist es bisher nicht gelungen, Impfstoffe gegen humanpathogene Retroviren, wie HTLV und HIV, zu entwickeln. Die klassischen Methoden der Impfstoffentwicklung gegen Viren sind bei Retroviren bisher weitestgehend fehlgeschlagen. Daher müssen neue Ansätze ermittelt werden, um erfolgreich Impfstoffe gegen Retroviren herstellen zu können. Wir verwenden ein Mausmodell, die Infektion von Mäusen mit dem „Friend Murine Leukemia Virus“ (FV), um grundlegende immunologische Mechanismen des Impfschutzes gegen Retroviren aufzuklären. Darüber hinaus untersuchen wir, welche Mediatoren des Immunsystems für die Kontrolle einer chronischen Infektion mit Retroviren wichtig sind. Die Erkenntnisse aus diesen Untersuchungen werden verwendet, um neue Immuntherapien und Impfstoffe gegen HIV zu entwickeln.

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Ulf Dittmer

Institutsleiter

Robert-Koch-Haus, Raum 3.24

Tel. 0201/723-3550

Fax 0201/723-6850

ulf.dittmer@uk-essen.de

Mitglieder der Arbeitsgruppe

Simone Schimmer

Technische Angestellte

Robert-Koch-Haus, Raum 3.51-3.53 

Tel. 0201/723-3583

simone.schimmer@uk-essen.de

Anna M.

Dr. rer. nat. Anna Malyshkina

Postdoktorandin

Robert-Koch-Haus, Raum 3.16

Tel. 0201/723-3062

anna.malyshkina@uk-essen.de

Bayer Wibke 162x205

​PD Dr. rer. nat. Wibke Bayer

Postdoktorandin

Robert-Koch-Haus, Raum XX

Tel.: 0201/723-83034

wibke.bayer@uk-essen.de

Zelinsky Gennady 162x205

​Dr. rer. nat. Gennadiy Zelinskyy

Postdoktorand

Robert-Koch-Haus, Raum 3.17

Tel.: 0201/723-3541

gennadiy.zelinskyy@uk-essen.de

Publikationsliste (Auswahl)

    2024

  • Cherneha, Maxim; Zydek, Isabel; Braß, Peer; Korth, Johannes; Jansen, Sarah; Esser, Stefan; Karsten, Christina; Meyer, Folker; Kraiselburd, Ivana; Dittmer, Ulf; Lindemann, Monika; Horn, Peter; Witzke, Oliver; Thümmler, Laura; Krawczyk, Adalbert
    Immunogenicity of the Monovalent Omicron XBB.1.5-Adapted BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine in People Living with HIV (PLWH)
    In: Vaccines Jg. 12 (2024) Nr. 7, 785
  • Albanese, Manuel; Chen, Hong-Ru; Gapp, Madeleine; Muenchhoff, Maximilian; Yang, Hsiu-Hui; Peterhoff, David; Hoffmann, Katja; Xiao, Qianhao; Ruhle, Adrian; Ambiel, Ina; Schneider, Stephanie; Mejías-Pérez, Ernesto; Stern, Marcel; Wratil, Paul R.; Hofmann, Katharina; Amann, Laura; Jocham, Linda; Fuchs, Thimo; Ulivi, Alessandro F.; Besson-Girard, Simon; Weidlich, Simon; Schneider, Jochen; Spinner, Christoph D.; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Humpe, Andreas; Baumeister, Philipp; Wieser, Andreas; Rothenfusser, Simon; Bogner, Johannes; Roider, Julia; Knolle, Percy; Hengel, Hartmut; Wagner, Ralf; Laketa, Vibor; Fackler, Oliver T.; Keppler, Oliver T.
    Receptor transfer between immune cells by autoantibody-enhanced, CD32-driven trogocytosis is hijacked by HIV-1 to infect resting CD4 T cells
    In: Cell Reports Medicine Jg. 5 (2024) Nr. 4, 101483
  • Mittermüller, Daniela; Otto, Lucas; Kilian, Annika Loredana; Schnormeier, Ann-Kathrin; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Hasenberg, Anja; Dittmer, Ulf; Gunzer, Matthias
    PD-1 knockout on cytotoxic primary murine CD8+ T cells improves their motility in retrovirus infected mice
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 15 (2024) 1338218
  • Roesmann, Fabian; Sertznig, Helene; Klaassen, Katleen; Wilhelm, Alexander; Heininger, Delia; Heß, Stefanie; Elsner, Carina; Marschalek, Rolf; Santiago, Mario L.; Esser, Stefan; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Widera, Marek
    The interferon-regulated host factor hnRNPA0 modulates HIV-1 production by interference with LTR activity, mRNA trafficking, and programmed ribosomal frameshifting
    In: Journal of Virology Jg. 98 (2024) Nr. 7, e0053424
  • 2023

  • Mittermüller, Daniela; Otto, Lucas; Long, Zoë; Kraus, Andreas; Beer, Alexander; Hasenberg, Anja; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy; Westmeier, Jaana; Hasenkrug, Kim J.; Dittmer, Ulf; Gunzer, Matthias
    Regulatory T cells suppress the motility of cytotoxic T cells in Friend retrovirus-infected mice
    In: JCI Insight Jg. 8 (2023) Nr. 13, e167482
  • Malyshkina, Anna; Bayer, Wibke; Podschwadt, Philip; Otto, Lucas; Karakoese, Zehra; Sutter, Kathrin; Bruderek, Kirsten; Wang, Baoxiao; Lavender, Kerry J.; Santiago, Mario L.; Leipe, Pia Madeleine; Elsner, Carina; Esser, Stefan; Brandau, Sven; Gunzer, Matthias; Dittmer, Ulf
    Immunotherapy-induced cytotoxic T follicular helper cells reduce numbers of retrovirus-infected reservoir cells in B cell follicles
    In: PLoS Pathogens Jg. 19 (2023) Nr. 10, e1011725
  • Schimmer, Simone; Mittermüller, Daniela; Werner, Tanja; Görs, Paul E.; Meckelmann, Sven; Finlay, David K.; Dittmer, Ulf; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth
    Fatty acids are crucial to fuel NK cells upon acute retrovirus infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 14 (2023) 1296355
  • 2022

  • Packard, Thomas A.; Schwarzer, Roland; Herzig, Eytan; Rao, Deepashri; Luo, Xiaoyu; Egedal, Johanne H.; Hsiao, Feng; Widera, Marek; Hultquist, Judd F.; Grimmett, Zachary W.; Messer, Ronald J.; Krogan, Nevan J.; Deeks, Steven G.; Roan, Nadia R.; Dittmer, Ulf; Hasenkrug, Kim J.; Greene, Warner C.
    CCL2 : a Chemokine Potentially Promoting Early Seeding of the Latent HIV Reservoir
    In: mBio Jg. 13 (2022) Nr. 5, e0189122
  • David, Paul; Westmeier, Jaana; Drabczyk-Pluta, Malgorzata; Werner, Tanja; Ickler, Julia; Francois, Sandra; Bayer, Wibke; Sutter, Kathrin; Del Rio, Maria Luisa; Rodriguez-Barbosa, Jose-Ignacio; Dittmer, Ulf; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy
    The Role of the Inhibitory Ligand HVEM and Its Receptors CD160 and BTLA in the Regulation of Anti-retroviral T Cell Responses
    In: Frontiers in Virology Jg. 2 (2022) 836291
  • Karakoese, Zehra; Schwerdtfeger, Mara; Karsten, Christina; Esser, Stefan; Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin
    Distinct Type I Interferon Subtypes Differentially Stimulate T Cell Responses in HIV-1-Infected Individuals
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 13 (2022) 936918
  • Schwerdtfeger, Mara; Dickow, Julia; Schmitz, Yasmin; Francois, Sandra; Karakoese, Zehra; Malyshkina, Anna; Knuschke, Torben; Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin
    Immunotherapy With Interferon α11, But Not Interferon Beta, Controls Persistent Retroviral Infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 12 (2022) 809774
  • Rout, Saurav S.; Di, Yunyun; Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin; Lavender, Kerry J.
    Distinct effects of treatment with two different interferon-alpha subtypes on HIV-1-associated T-cell activation and dysfunction in humanized mice
    In: AIDS Jg. 36 (2022) Nr. 3, S. 325 - 336
  • Sertznig, Helene; Roesmann, Fabian; Wilhelm, Alexander; Heininger, Delia; Bleekmann, Barbara; Elsner, Carina; Santiago, Mario; Schuhenn, Jonas; Karakoese, Zehra; Benatzy, Yvonne; Snodgrass, Ryan; Esser, Stefan; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Widera, Marek
    SRSF1 acts as an IFN-I-regulated cellular dependency factor decisively affecting HIV-1 post-integration steps
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 13 (2022) 935800
  • 2021

  • Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Moreira, Diana; Frost, Joe N.; Choi, Chloe; Liou, Kevin T.; Ahern, David K.; O’Shaughnessy, Simon; Wagner, Bernd; Biron, Christine A.; Drakesmith, Hal; Dittmer, Ulf; Finlay, David K.
    Metabolic requirements of NK cells during the acute response against retroviral infection
    In: Nature Communications Jg. 12 (2021) Nr. 1, 5376
  • Pušnik, Jernej; Fischinger, Stephanie; Dittmer, Ulf; Esser, Stefan; van Gils, Marit J.; Sanders, Rogier W.; Alter, Galit; Streeck, Hendrik
    Production of HIV-1 env-specific antibodies mediating innate immune functions depends on cognate interleukin-21-secreting CD4⁺T cells
    In: Journal of Virology Jg. 95 (2021) Nr. 8, S. e02097
  • Knuschke, Torben; Kollenda, Sebastian; Wenzek, Christina; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy; Steinbach, Philine; Dittmer, Ulf; Buer, Jan; Epple, Matthias; Westendorf, Astrid
    A combination of anti-pd-l1 treatment and therapeutic vaccination facilitates improved retroviral clearance via reactivation of highly exhausted t cells
    In: mBio Jg. 12 (2021) Nr. 1, S. e02121 - 20
  • 2020

  • Guo, Kejun; Shen, Guannan; Kibbie, Jon; Gonzalez, Tania; Dillon, Stephanie M.; Smith, Harry A.; Cooper, Emily H.; Lavender, Kerry; Hasenkrug, Kim J.; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Kroehl, Miranda; Kechris, Katerina; Wilson, Cara C.; Santiago, Mario L.
    Qualitative differences between the IFNα subtypes and IFNβ influence chronic mucosal HIV-1 pathogenesis
    In: PLoS Pathogens Jg. 16 (2020) Nr. 10, S. 1008986
  • David, Paul; Drabczyk-Pluta, Malgorzata; Pastille, Eva; Knuschke, Torben; Werner, Tanja; Honke, Nadine; Megger, Dominik A.; Akhmetzyanova, Ilseyar; Shaabani, Namir; Eyking-Singer, Annette; Cario, Elke; Kershaw, Olivia; Gruber, Achim D.; Tenbusch, Matthias; Dietze, Kirsten; Trilling, Mirko; Liu, Jia; Schadendorf, Dirk; Streeck, Hendrik; Lang, Karl S.; Xie, Youhua; Zimmer, Lisa; Sitek, Barbara; Paschen, Annette; Westendorf, Astrid; Dittmer, Ulf; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy
    Combination immunotherapy with anti-PD-L1 antibody and depletion of regulatory T cells during acute viral infections results in improved virus control but lethal immunopathology
    In: PLoS Pathogens Jg. 16 (2020) Nr. 3, e1008340
  • Ickler, Julia; Francois, Sandra; Widera, Marek; Santiago, Mario L.; Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin
    HIV infection does not alter interferon α/β receptor 2 expression on mucosal immune cells
    In: PLoS ONE Jg. 15 (2020) Nr. 1, S. e0218905
  • Ross, Jean Alexander; Malyshkina, Anna; Otto, Lucas; Liu, Jia; Dittmer, Ulf
    Inhibition of IL-2 or NF-κB Subunit c-Rel-Dependent Signaling Inhibits Expansion of Regulatory T Cells During Acute Friend Retrovirus Infection
    In: Viral Immunology Jg. 33 (2020) Nr. 5, S. 353 - 360
  • Zutz, Ariane; Schölz, Christian; Schneider, Stephanie; Pierini, Virginia; Münchhoff, Maximilian; Sutter, Kathrin; Wittmann, Georg; Dittmer, Ulf; Draenert, Rika; Bogner, Johannes R.; Fackler, Oliver T.; Keppler, Oliver T.
    SERINC5 Is an Unconventional HIV Restriction Factor That Is Upregulated during Myeloid Cell Differentiation
    In: Journal of Innate Immunity Jg. 12 (2020) Nr. 5, S. 399 - 409
  • 2019

  • Passos, Vânia; Zillinger, Thomas; Casartelli, Nicoletta; Wachs, Amelie S.; Xu, Shuting; Malassa, Angelina; Steppich, Katja; Schilling, Hildegard; Franz, Sergej; Todt, Daniel; Steinmann, Eike; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Bohne, Jens; Schwartz, Olivier; Barchet, Winfried; Goffinet, Christine
    Characterization of Endogenous SERINC5 Protein as Anti-HIV-1 Factor
    In: Journal of Virology Jg. 93 (2019) Nr. 24, S. e01221 - 19
  • Sutter, Kathrin; Lavender, Kerry J.; Messer, Ronald J.; Widera, Marek; Williams, Katie; Race, Brent; Hasenkrug, Kim J.; Dittmer, Ulf
    Concurrent administration of IFNα14 and cART in TKO-BLT mice enhances suppression of HIV-1 viremia but does not eliminate the latent reservoir
    In: Scientific Reports Jg. 9 (2019) S. 18089
  • Dittmer, Ulf; Sutter, Kathrin; Kassiotis, George; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy; Bánki, Zoltán; Stoiber, Heribert; Santiago, Mario L.; Hasenkrug, Kim J.
    Friend retrovirus studies reveal complex interactions between intrinsic, innate and adaptive immunity
    In: FEMS Microbiology Reviews Jg. 43 (2019) Nr. 5, S. 435 - 456
  • Braun, Elisabeth; Hotter, Dominik; Koepke, Lennart; Zech, Fabian; Groß, Rüdiger; Sparrer, Konstantin M.J.; Müller, Janis A.; Pfaller, Christian K.; Heusinger, Elena; Wombacher, Rebecka; Sutter, Kathrin; Dittmer, Ulf; Winkler, Michael; Simmons, Graham; Jakobsen, Martin R.; Conzelmann, Karl-Klaus; Pöhlmann, Stefan; Münch, Jan; Fackler, Oliver T.; Kirchhoff, Frank; Sauter, Daniel
    Guanylate-Binding Proteins 2 and 5 Exert Broad Antiviral Activity by Inhibiting Furin-Mediated Processing of Viral Envelope Proteins
    In: Cell Reports Jg. 27 (2019) Nr. 7, S. 2092 - 2104.e10
  • Bongard, Nadine; Le-Trilling, Vu Thuy Khanh; Malyshkina, Anna; Rückborn, Meike; Wohlgemuth, Kerstin; Wensing, Ina; Windmann, Sonja; Dittmer, Ulf; Trilling, Mirko; Bayer, Wibke
    Immunization with a murine cytomegalovirus based vector encoding retrovirus envelope confers strong protection from Friend retrovirus challenge infection
    In: PLoS Pathogens Jg. 15 (2019) Nr. 9, e1008043
  • Hotter, Dominik; Bosso, Matteo; Jønsson, Kasper L.; Krapp, Christian; Stürzel, Christina M.; Das, Atze; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Berkhout, Ben; Russ, Alina; Wittmann, Sabine; Gramberg, Thomas; Zheng, Yue; Martins, Laura J.; Planelles, Vicente; Jakobsen, Martin R.; Hahn, Beatrice H.; Dittmer, Ulf; Sauter, Daniel; Kirchhoff, Frank
    IFI16 Targets the Transcription Factor Sp1 to Suppress HIV-1 Transcription and Latency Reactivation
    In: Cell Host & Microbe Jg. 25 (2019) Nr. 6, S. 858 - 872.e13
  • Verheyen, Jens; Thielen, Alexander; Lübke, Nadine; Dirks, Miriam; Widera, Marek; Dittmer, Ulf; Kordelas, Lambros; Däumer, Martin; De Jong, Dorien C. M.; Wensing, Annemarie M. J.; Kaiser, Rolf; Nijhuis, Monique; Esser, Stefan
    Rapid rebound of a preexisting CXCR4-tropic human immunodeficiency virus variant after allogeneic transplantation with CCR5 Δ32 homozygous stem cells
    In: Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) Jg. 68 (2019) Nr. 4, S. 684 - 687
  • David, Paul; Megger, Dominik A.; Kaiser, Tamara; Werner, Tanja; Liu, Jia; Chen, Lieping; Sitek, Barbara; Dittmer, Ulf; Zelinskyy, Gennadiy
    The PD-1/PD-L1 Pathway Affects the Expansion and Function of Cytotoxic CD8⁺ T Cells During an Acute Retroviral Infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 10 (2019) 54
  • Windmann, Sonja; Otto, Lucas; Hrycak, Camilla Patrizia; Malyshkina, Anna; Bongard, Nadine; David, Paul; Gunzer, Matthias; Dittmer, Ulf; Bayer, Wibke
    Infection of B Cell Follicle-Resident Cells by Friend Retrovirus Occurs during Acute Infection and Is Maintained during Viral Persistence
    In: mBio Jg. 10 (2019) Nr. 1,
  • Malyshkina, Anna; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Sutter, Kathrin; Ross, Jean Alexander; Paschen, Annette; Windmann, Sonja; Schimmer, Simone; Dittmer, Ulf
    Chronic retroviral infection of mice promotes tumor development, but CD137 agonist therapy restores effective tumor immune surveillance
    In: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy Jg. 68 (2019) Nr. 3, S. 479 - 488
  • Moore, Tyler C.; Messer, Ronald J.; Gonzaga, Lorena M.; Mather, Jennifer M.; Carmody, Aaron B.; Bayer, Wibke; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Dittmer, Ulf; Hasenkrug, Kim J.
    Effects of Friend Virus Infection and Regulatory T Cells on the Antigen Presentation Function of B Cells
    In: mBio Jg. 10 (2019) Nr. 1, S. e02578 - 18
  • 2018

  • Malyshkina, Anna; Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Dittmer, Ulf; Schimmer, Simone
    The Cytotoxic Activity of Natural Killer Cells Is Suppressed by IL-10⁺ Regulatory T Cells During Acute Retroviral Infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 9 (2018) S. 1947
  • Wang, Hongye; Yuan, Ting; Li, Tingting; Li, Yanpeng; Qian, Feng; Zhu, Chuanwu; Liang, Shujia; Hoffmann, Daniel; Dittmer, Ulf; Sun, Binlian; Yang, Rongge
    Evaluation of susceptibility of HIV-1 CRF01_AE variants to neutralization by a panel of broadly neutralizing antibodies
    In: Archives of Virology Jg. 163 (2018) Nr. 12, S. 3303 - 3315
  • Du, Keye; Liu, Jia; Bröring, Ruth; Zhang, Xiaoyong; Yang, Dongliang; Dittmer, Ulf; Lu, Mengji
    Recent advances in the discovery and development of TLR ligands as novel therapeutics for chronic HBV and HIV infections
    In: Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery Jg. 13 (2018) Nr. 7, S. 661 - 670
  • Sutter, Kathrin; Dickow, Julia; Dittmer, Ulf
    Interferon α subtypes in HIV infection
    In: Cytokine & Growth Factor Reviews Jg. 40 (2018) S. 13 - 18
  • Lavender, Kerry J.; Pace, Craig; Sutter, Kathrin; Messer, Ronald J.; Pouncey, Dakota L.; Cummins, Nathan W.; Natesampillai, Sekar; Zheng, Jim; Goldsmith, Joshua; Widera, Marek; Van Dis, Erik S.; Phillips, Katie; Race, Brent; Dittmer, Ulf; Kukolj, George; Hasenkrug, Kim J.
    An advanced BLT-humanized mouse model for extended HIV-1 cure studies
    In: AIDS Jg. 32 (2018) Nr. 1, S. 1 - 10
  • Littwitz-Salomon, Elisabeth; Nguyen, Thanh; Schimmer, Simone; Dittmer, Ulf
    Friend retrovirus infection induces the development of memory-like natural killer cells 11 Medical and Health Sciences 1107 Immunology
    In: Retrovirology Jg. 15 (2018) Nr. 1, 68
  • Chougnet, Claire A.; Hasenkrug, Kim J.; Hobman, Tom C.; Dittmer, Ulf
    Regulatory T cells in retroviral infections
    In: PLoS Pathogens Jg. 14 (2018) Nr. 2, S. e1006776
  • Knuschke, Torben; Rotan, Olga; Bayer, Wibke; Kollenda, Sebastian; Dickow, Julia; Sutter, Kathrin; Hansen, Wiebke; Dittmer, Ulf; Lang, Karl S.; Epple, Matthias; Buer, Jan; Westendorf, Astrid
    Induction of Type I Interferons by Therapeutic Nanoparticle-Based Vaccination Is Indispensable to Reinforce Cytotoxic CD8+ T Cell Responses During Chronic Retroviral Infection
    In: Frontiers in Immunology Jg. 9 (2018) 614