Philipp Kolb & Team
Research Topics
Molecular determinants of congenital HCMV infection
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is one of the nine known human herpesviruses. It causes a particularly high disease burden in congenitally infected newborns, often leading to severe physical or sensorineural defects. One major reason for the success of HCMV in establishing life-long infection is its ability to withstand humoral immunity, particularly neutralizing IgG antibodies. Consequently, there is no vaccine available. Antiviral therapy against HCMV disease is restricted to few antiviral agents fraught with severe side effects including teratogenic damage and emergence of virus resistance. Consequently, they are not applicable in some clinical settings including pregnancy. Therefore, vulnerable patient groups will greatly benefit from alternative intervention strategies with fewer risks.
We are interested in solving the molecular mechanisms driving congenital HCMV infection and aim to identify viral targets for novel intervention and prevention strategies.
Selected Publications
- Chen H, Maul-Pavicic A, Holzer M, Salzer U, Chevalier N, Voll RE, Hengel H & Kolb P. Detection and functional resolution of soluble immune complexes by an FcγR reporter cell panel. 2021 – EMBO Molecular Medicine doi: 10.15252/emmm.202114182
- Kolb P, Hoffmann K, Sievert A, Reinhard H, Mercé-Maldonado E, Le-Trilling VTK, Halenius A, Gütle D, Hengel H. Human Cytomegalovirus antagonizes activation of Fcγ receptors II and III by distinct and synergizing modes of IgG manipulation. 2021 - eLIFE doi: 10.7554/eLife.63877
- Pérez-Portilla A, Moraru M, Blázquez-Moreno A, Kolb P, Bravo García-Morato M, Ranganath T, Esteso G, Gianelli C, Rodríguez-Pena R, Lozano-Rodríguez R, Torres-Canizales JM, Blish CA, Vales-Gomez M, Hengel H, Vilches C, López-Granados E, Reyburn HT. Identification of the first cases of complete CD16A deficiency: Association with persistent EBV infection. 2020 - JACI. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2019.11.049
- Kolb P, Sijmons S, McArdle MR, Taher H, Womack J, Hughes C, Ventura A, Jarvis MA, Stahl-Hennig C, Hansen S, Picker LJ, Malouli D, Hengel H, Früh K.. Identification and functional characterization of a novel Fc gamma-binding glycoprotein in rhesus cytomegalovirus. 2019 - J Virol doi:10.1128/JVI.02077-18
Funded projects
EQUIP – Medical Scientist Programme 2020/2021
https://www.med.uni-freiburg.de/de/forschung/karrierewege/medical-scientist
Participation in research consortia (PI: Hartmut Hengel)
DFG-Forschergruppe 2830 „Advanced Concepts in Cellular Immune Control of Cytomegalovirus“
NIH CMV P01 "Immunologic and Virologic Determinants of Congenital Cytomegalovirus Transmission and Disease in Rhesus Monkeys”, Grant Number: 1P01AI129859-01A1
Infect-ERA: TANKACY (TArgeting Natural Killer cells Against CYtomegalovirus) - concluded
Kompetenznetzwerk Zytomegalie Baden-Württemberg Ulm-Tübingen-Freiburg – concluded
Lab members & contact
Team Leader: Philipp Kolb (Ph.D.)
Phone: +49 761 203-6587
- Martin Ebermann MD
- Ying Pang Dr. sc. hum
- Sandra Hägele HiWi
former
- Sophia Petkova MD
- Ann-Kathrin Kohl B.Sc thesis (since 09/2020)
- Magdalena Huber M.Sc thesis (2019)
- Haizhang Chen MD thesis (2018)
- Annika Sievert B.Sc thesis (2017)
Philipp Kolb
(Ph.D.)
Phone: +49 761 203-6587
Head:
Prof. Dr. med. Hartmut Hengel
hartmut.hengel@uniklinik-freiburg.de