The costs for the laboratory and most of the equipment are covered by the Medical University of Vienna. However, accounting for the usual framework and conditions, about 65 percent of ongoing costs regarding staff and consumables have to be financed by third-party funds. The laboratory is therefore dependent on research projects from the public sector and the pharmaceutical industry. Our current projects include:
In this stand-alone project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (Österreichischer Wissenschaftsfonds, FWF), we aim to uncover novel routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by analyzing cellular uptake of the virus via alternative receptors. We focus on cells with no or very low expression of the prime viral receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), such as human immune cells. We study not only the possible infection of these cells by the virus, but also their antiviral responses that, if de-regulated, can lead to life-threatening cytokine storm often seen in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
In this project, sponsored by the German drug discovery company Synovo GmbH, we study the effectiveness of Synovo-produced macrolide drugs against infections caused by enveloped viruses, SARS-CoV-2 in particular. Since some of the drugs have immunomodulatory properties, we also analyze drugs’ effects onto antiviral and metabolic responses of infected cells.
This project is funded by the Lower Austria Society for Research Promotion (Gesellschaft für Forschungsförderung Niederösterreich, GFF NÖ). Under the leadership of Dr. Doris Ribitsch (BOKU University Vienna, IFA-Tulln), we develop novel pH-responsive protein nanocapsules loaded with cytotoxic drugs for breast cancer therapy. The specificity of the treatment is ensured by surface functionalization of nanocapsules with chemically-conjugated monoclonal antibodies against breast cancer antigens.
High levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol increase a risk for heart attack or stroke but too little of it may interfere with immune cell function to fight infections and cancer. Lipid-lowering therapies also impact on cognitive function, hormone synthesis, as well as bone metabolism and osteoporosis. In our ongoing interdisciplinary Chormone Study (a blend of cholesterol and hormones), we analyze the effect of statins and novel proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors on human immune phenotype and function in unprecedented detail by spectral flow cytometry.
Furthermore, we have been privileged to find outstanding partners in Austria as well as in Europe to collaborate on several large-scale projects during the last 10 years as for instance:
Folate-Target Nanodevices To Activated Macrophages For Rheumatoid Arthritis (FOLSMART)
Folate-based Nanobiodevices for Integrated Diagnosis/Therapy Targeting Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (NANOFOL)
These two EU-funded projects were led by Prof. Dr. Artur Cavaco-Paulo (University of Minho, Braga, Portugal). Together with academic and industrial partners from Austria, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Czechia, Netherlands, and Romania, we developed therapeutic liposomes functionalized on their surface with folate to target proinflammatory macrophages causing chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Within NANOFOL, we successfully completed proof-of-concept experiments, while within FOLSMART, we executed all necessary pre-clinical tests in vitro and in vivo in several animal models that were necessary for the regulatory approval of a phase I clinical trial. This first-in-human clinical study was successfully completed in 2021.