Viral Hepatitis
General
Chronic infection with hepatitis viruses can lead to liver cirrhosis as well as hepatocellular carcinoma and is a major global health challenge. We are focussing on chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis D virus (HDV): HDV is dependent on the HBV envelope for its viral life cycle, and therefore only occurs as a co- or super-infection together with HBV. Approved therapeutic options are insufficient, and novel therapeutic regimens will likely need to combine different approaches including immunotherapy. In both chronic hepatitis B and D, the activated immune system mediates liver damage, but fails to clear the infection.
We are particularly interested in how the adaptive non-specific immune system, as well as interferon signaling, affects the bimodal spread of HDV within the liver (see also https://www.trr179.de/en/science/project-overview/tp15/u/15/). We use cell culture systems and clinical human samples for a translational approach. Another interest is the improvement of testing for HDV co-infection, as worldwide it is likely severely under-diagnosed. To this end, we are working with various national and international collaborators. Clinical studies (Virushepatitis) are listed here.
Team
Funding
Open positions
If you are interested in contributing to our work, please do not hesitate to contact us: Shirin.Nkongolo(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de