Protzer Lab
Our scientific interest is to better understand the interaction of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus with their host and to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat chronic viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Our scientific interest is to better understand the interaction of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus with their host and to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat chronic viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
About our Research
The main focus of our group is to understand in molecular detail the interaction of HBV with its host and its host cell, the hepatocyte. Hereby, we investigate which cellular pathways are involved in the control of HBV replication, which viral proteins may counteract them and how HBV is activated or inactivated by immune mediators and metabolites. In addition, we use the advanced understanding of HBV molecular biology for developing targeted antiviral strategies. Based on thorough analyses of immune responses, we design novel immunotherapies, test them in the preclinical mouse models we have established and promote preclinical development of the most promising ones.
Publications
Read more2025 Scientific Article in Nature Biotechnology
Nanocarrier imaging at single-cell resolution across entire mouse bodies with deep learning.
2025 Scientific Article in Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Differential regulation of calcium-NFAT signaling pathway by Akt isoforms: Unraveling effector dynamics and exhaustion of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in tumor microenvironment.
2025 Scientific Article in Journal of Virology
Identification of NTCP animal orthologs supporting hepatitis B virus binding and infection.
2025 Scientific Article in Microorganisms
A multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus, and varicella-zoster virus in cerebrospinal Fluid.
2025 Scientific Article in Journal of Medical Virology
SARS-CoV-2 productively infects human hepatocytes and induces cell death.
2025 Scientific Article in Emerging Microbes and Infections
Novel digital droplet inverse PCR assay shows that natural clearance of Hepatitis B infection is associated with fewer viral integrations.
2024 Scientific Article in Npj Viruses
Identification of amino acids restricting HBV receptor function in porcine NTCP.
2024 Scientific Article in PLoS Pathogens
Systematic assessment of COVID-19 host genetics using whole genome sequencing data.
2024 Scientific Article in Cell Host & Microbe
Persistence of spike protein at the skull-meninges-brain axis may contribute to the neurological sequelae of COVID-19.
2024 Scientific Article in EBioMedicine
Longitudinal effects of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection on imprinting of neutralizing antibody responses.
2024 Scientific Article in Virology Journal
Adenoviral fiber-knob based vaccination elicits efficient neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses against adenovirus infection.
2024 Scientific Article in JHEP Reports
HBV-related HCC development in mice is STAT3 dependent and indicates an oncogenic effect of HBx.
2024 Editorial in Clinical and Molecular Hepatology
Correspondence on Editorial regarding "Genetically modified, redirected T cells target hepatitis B surface antigen-positive hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma lesions in a clinical setting".
2024 Scientific Article in Microbes and Infection
Replication-deficient sendai virus expressing human norovirus capsid protein elicits robust NoV-specific antibody and T-cell responses in mice.
2024 Scientific Article in Nature Communications
Multi-omics characterization of the monkeypox virus infection.
2024 Scientific Article in Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Analytical and clinical evaluation of a novel real-time PCR-based detection kit for Mpox virus.
2024 Review in Antiviral Research