Antibiotics and other anti-infective agents are usually applied in human medicine to treat infectious diseases. Main target of the anti-infective therapy is therefore the pathogen. However, different antibiotic substances like macrolides and linezolid have also shown to be influencing the human immune response in different ways. Immune cells are crucial to control and fight infections, so the effect of anti-infective substances on these cells may impact treatment success in infectious conditions. Main focus of this project is to determine the impact of several antibiotics on immune cell function in vitro and gain insight into the mode of action.

Lab Members:

Fabian Fritz        MD student

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most relevant bacterial pathogens globally. It causes a wide spectrum of community- and hospital- acquired infections, including skin and soft tissue, bone and joint, endocarditis, pneumonia and blood stream infections. S. aureus possesses a variety of virulence factors of those some can be associated with certain clinical presentations. Several methods can be applied to characterize clinical S. aureus isolates that include phenotypic and genotypic methods like antimicrobial susceptibility testing, spa-typing, SCCmec typing and whole genome sequencing. These characteristics may then serve to study the epidemiology of S. aureus isolates and gain insight into infection dynamics and virulence determinants that may be relevant in different types of infection.

Collaborators

Prof. Dr. Dennis Nurjadi, UKSH Lübeck

Dr. Sébastien Boutin, UKSH Lübeck

Publications

Klein S, Morath B, Weitz D, Schweizer PA, Sähr A, Heeg K, Boutin S, Nurjadi D. Comparative Genomic Reveals Clonal Heterogeneity in Persistent Staphylococcus aureus Infection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Feb 21;12:817841. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.817841.

Nurjadi D, Eichel VM, Tabatabai P, Klein S, Last K, Mutters NT, Pöschl J, Zanger P, Heeg K, Boutin S. Surveillance for Colonization, Transmission, and Infection With Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Sep 1;4(9):e2124938. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.24938.

Klein S, Hannesen J, Zanger P, Heeg K, Boutin S, Nurjadi D. Entry of Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus into the hospital: prevalence and population structure in Heidelberg, Germany 2015-2018. Sci Rep. 2020 Aug 6;10(1):13243. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-70112-z.

Nurjadi D, Last K, Klein S, Boutin S, Schmack B, Mueller F, Heeg K, Ruhparwar A, Heininger A, Zanger P. Nasal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is a risk factor for ventricular assist device infection in the first year after implantation: A prospective, single-centre, cohort study. J Infect. 2020 May;80(5):511-518. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.02.015.

Klein S, Boutin S, Heeg K, Zanger P, Nurjadi D. Genomic structure of ST8-t008 USA300 and USA300-LV MRSA in the Rhine-Neckar Region, Germany, 2012-2018. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2021 Apr;57(4):106312. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2021.106312.

Nurjadi D, Klein S, Hannesen J, Heeg K, Boutin S, Zanger P. Molecular analysis of an increase in trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole-resistant MRSA reveals multiple introductions into a tertiary care hospital, Germany 2012-19. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2021 Dec 24;77(1):38-48. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkab341.

Klein S, Menz MD, Zanger P, Heeg K, Nurjadi D. Increase in the prevalence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin and clonal shift in community-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing skin and soft-tissue infections in the Rhine-Neckar Region, Germany, 2012-2016. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2019 Mar;53(3):261-267. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2018.10.026.

Nurjadi D, Klein S, Zimmermann S, Heeg K, Zanger P. Transmission of ST8-USA300 Latin American Variant Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus on a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Recurrent Skin and Soft- Tissue Infections as a Marker for Epidemic Community-Associated-MRSA Colonization. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2017 Jul;38(7):883-885.

Klein S, Nurjadi D, Eigenbrod T, Bode KA. Evaluation of antibiotic resistance to orally administrable antibiotics in staphylococcal bone and joint infections in one of the largest university hospitals in Germany: is there a role for fusidic acid? Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2016 Feb;47(2):155-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2015.12.002.

Diagnostics of infectious diseases are continuously adapting to the technological progress made in different fields, thereby improving in terms of accuracy, quality and timely results. The advances in sequencing technology has made platforms for next generation sequencing (NGS) available for a broader spectrum of applications which may help to improve infection diagnostics further. Therefore, the focus of research is to evaluate feasibility and quality in different approaches and settings using NGS.

Associated Scientists

Dr. Kaan Kocer

Dr. Niklas Weidner

Jasmin Jasuja, MD

Collaborators

Prof. Dr. Dennis Nurjadi, UKSH Lübeck

Dr. Sébastien Boutin, UKSH Lübeck

Dr. Katrin Klein, Nierenzentrum Heidelberg

Publications

Klein S, Boutin S, Kocer K, Fiedler MO, Störzinger D, Weigand MA, Tan B, Richter D, Rupp C, Mieth M, Mehrabi A, Hackert T, Zimmermann S, Heeg K, Nurjadi D. Rapid Development of Cefiderocol Resistance in Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae During Therapy Is Associated With Heterogeneous Mutations in the Catecholate Siderophore Receptor cirA. Clin Infect Dis. 2022 Mar 9;74(5):905-908. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab511.

Interdisciplinary project in collaboration with the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Pneumology, the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine and Hospital Pharmacy to monitor infections in Patients with VAD.