News
Foundation laid for diagnostics and prevention: Researchers from the former LOEWE Center DRUID decipher how the pathogen causing louse-borne relapsing fever outwits the immune system
Prof. Peter Kraiczy – Project Leader at LOEWE-DRUID and head of the "Borrelia" research group at the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene (University Hospital Frankfurt/Goethe University) – has collaborated with scientists from Justus Liebig University Giessen to identify and characterize five so-called Chi proteins from Borrelia recurrentis, the pathogen that causes louse-borne relapsing fever. These proteins help the bacterium evade key mechanisms of the innate immune system, thereby enabling it to survive within the human body.
These findings not only provide a better understanding of how the disease develops; they have already contributed to the development of new diagnostic tests and offer promising avenues for future vaccine strategies against one of the most dangerous infectious diseases affecting humans.
A particularly positive aspect is that this research was funded by the State of Hesse’s LOEWE Center DRUID (2018–2024). The center has successfully strengthened research efforts in Hesse aimed at combating neglected tropical diseases.
These latest results impressively demonstrate how long-term research funding facilitates excellent scientific collaboration and paves the way for tangible applications in global health research.