Konstantin Sparrer

The hepatitis E virus capsid protein ORF2 counteracts cell-intrinsic antiviral responses to enable persistent replication in cell culture Author summary Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is an important yet often underestimated pathogen. Depending on the genotype, HEV infections can progress to chronicity, but the underlying mechanisms remain poo...

🎉 Exciting news: my PhD project @daothilab.bsky.social has been published in #PLoS Pathogens! I investigated how the #hepatitis E virus ORF2 protein counteracts antiviral responses, contributing to persistent viral replication. A huge thank you to all collaborators! 🙏🏻
🔗 share.google/WwIT43Su3KOP...

Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...

Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Full room at the start of the 2nd Immunobiology symposium on pattern recognition receptors!
Looking forward to the great programme that we lined up for you together with @brozlab.bsky.social @martinon.bsky.social

#ImmunoSky

Feeling deeply honored to receive this year's Aventis Life Science Bridge Award. Grateful to the Aventis Foundation for their support, and to my colleagues, mentors, collaborators, and my amazing research team who make this work possible. Excited to keep pushing our HIV research forward together.

🔬✨ Introducing: Expert Insights – the new seminar series by the Young Society for Virology!

We’ve combined the strengths of our previous “How to” seminar series and the GfV ROUND lunch discussions into one powerful format – Expert Insights.

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Structural basis for OAS2 regulation and its antiviral function Merold and Bekere et al. reveal that OAS2 exists as a zinc-mediated dimer in an autoinhibited state, preventing autoreactivity to short RNAs. Dimer-to-monomer transition, dsRNA binding to a non-canonical interface, and targeting to the Golgi by myristoylation are necessary for OAS2 activation and restriction of viruses that form double membrane vesicles.

Structural basis for OAS2 regulation and its antiviral function

Proud to present a cover inspired by the structural and functional analysis of OAS2 by @oliveiramann.bsky.social, @indrabekere.bsky.social, and Veronika Merold, live at @cp-molcell.bsky.social. Big news on RNA sensing and antiviral defenses!

#sciart ⌬ #research ⌬ #chemistry ⌬ #immunology

Mit fünf weiteren Fachgesellschaften macht sich die GfV stark dafür, die Wissenschaftsfreiheit zu verteidigen und zu festigen. Leider geschieht dies nicht im luftleeren Raum, sondern in Zeiten, in denen diese essentielle Freiheit zusehends auch bei uns unter Druck gerät.

g-f-v.org/gemeinsame-s...

Using Swarm Intelligence to Improve Treatment of Acute Stroke Research project is combining central registry with local brain imaging data by means of artificial intelligence.

How can swarm intelligence improve stroke treatment? A research project links central registry data with local brain imaging – powered by artificial intelligence. Funded by @www.helmholtz.de and under paricipation of @cispa.de.

👉 www.dzne.de/en/news/pres...

Centromeric DNA amplification triggered by viral proteins activates nuclear cGAS Herpesvirus proteins disrupt centromeres, triggering centromeric DNA amplification and local nuclear activation of the nucleic acid sensor cGAS. This reveals an immune surveillance mechanism in the nu...

Thrilled to share our latest @cp-cell.bsky.social.
We present VICAR (VIral-induced Centromeric DNA Amplification and Recognition), a new defense system to detect viruses in the nucleus based on nuclear cGAS.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Online Now: Structural basis for OAS2 regulation and its antiviral function Online now:

Our manuscript on dsRNA sensor OAS2 from the lab of @oliveiramann.bsky.social is now out in @cp-molcell.bsky.social ! Thanks again to the whole team for their effort putting this story together!

Two scientists, a woman and a man, wearing safety goggles and lab coats, examine a robotic device. Overlaid text reads "Choose Europe – Freedom to explore, research and innovate. Discover how" with the European Union flag.

The EU flag is shown with a headline "Europe offers:" followed by a list: Stable funding and careers, Academic freedom and scientific excellence, High quality of life (healthcare, education, pensions), and Collaboration beyond borders.

Two young women smile while looking at a tablet, surrounded by EU stars. Text reads: "Choose Europe – €500 million for 2025–2027 to make Europe a magnet for researchers."

Here is one big reason to choose Europe to advance with your research career:

We 💙 science.

Was haben Stechmücken mit gefährlichen Viren zu tun?
Die Antwort darauf gibt es von Dr. Pietro Scaturro (LIV) bei #bookascientist – dem Format für persönliche Gespräche mit Expert*innen @leibniz-gemeinschaft.de. Jetzt einen Termin sichern!
www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/ueber-uns/ne...

A list of confirmed speakers, plus a photo of the hotel and logos of our sponsors.

📢 Only one week to go!

We are very thrilled about our upcoming first CiViA #symposium 'Defense against #viral infections 🦠 ', which will take place on 21 & 22 May 2025 at Hotel Vejlefjord, #Denmark 🇩🇰.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Supported by @dg.dk & @carlsbergfondet.dk

Continuing our #CiViASymposium session 2 with Konstantin Sparrer @sparrerlab.bsky.social on innate immune control mechanisms.

PhD student (f/m/x) in the field of Neuroimmunology 1439/2025/5]

📢 We are #hiring a #PhD student to work on an interdisciplinary, collaborative project @dzne.science in Bonn, Germany!
🧠 If you’re interested in western diet-induced #neuroinflammation and innate immune signalling in #alzheimersdisease, check out our ad below 👇

jobs.dzne.de/en/jobs/1014...

We are pleased to invite you to our next "How to..." seminar on measuring protein-protein interactions using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) by Prof. Abel Viejo-Borbolla, Hannover Medical School.
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AAV vectors trigger DNA damage response-dependent pro-inflammatory signalling in human iPSC-derived CNS models and mouse brain Nature Communications - Costa-Verdera et. al describe a mechanism by which AAV vector genomes activate P53-mediated signalling in CNS cells involving downstream STING activation and...

We are super excited to share our work on #InnateImmune sensing of #AAV 🦠🧬 in the 🧠, just out in @natcomms.nature.com ! 🤩

Huge congratulations to all the team and collaborators 💪🏻

And our funders 💰
@erc.europa.eu #FondazioneTelethon and #FNIH 🙏🏻

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.

A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of 7 years by approximately one-fifth.

Nature research paper: A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia

https://go.nature.com/3XHRhq5

This is figure 3, which shows the effect of the zoster vaccine on new diagnoses of dementia.

The shingles vaccine reduced the probability of new #dementia diagnoses by around one-fifth over seven years, according to a large-scale study of a population in Wales, UK, reported in Nature. https://go.nature.com/4460AE4 🧪

A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...

The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...

Konstantin Sparrer @sparrerlab.bsky.social @dzne.science , Maximilian Hirschenberger @uniulm.bsky.social and co-workers show that distinct pathogenic mutations in ARF1 allow dissection of its dual role in #cGAS-STING #signalling.

www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Many forms of Long Covid: Long Covid is a multisystemic disease with sequelae that affect almost all organ systems. Various putative mechanisms that underlie these sequelae are not mutually exclusive and may explain the myriad health effects seen in Long Covid. Therapeutics that target these pathways, such as antivirals, anti-inflammatory agents, microbiome restoration, and anticoagulant drugs, may ameliorate symptoms.

A #SciencePerspective by @zalaly.bsky.social and @erictopol.bsky.social identifies key issues that need to be prioritized in the study of #LongCovid.

Learn more on #LongCovidAwarenessDay: scim.ag/3XKbds3

Antibodies targeting Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus GP38 limit vascular leak and viral spread Glycoprotein GP38-specific antibodies reduce viral dissemination and GP38-mediated vascular leak in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus infection.

Happy to finally see this study published, a great collaboration between academic, government and industry labs! We show that CCHFV GP38 can induce vascular leak and that this can be prevented by protective but not virus-neutralizing antibodies! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

And that was that – the 34th annual virology meeting ended today, with awards and an outlook on the meeting next year in Heidelberg. We at the GfV are very grateful to the local organizing team from @leibnizliv.bsky.social, the many many helpers as well as catering and Conventus!

Just now, keynote speaker Joe Grove from Glasgow, presented how machine learning helped resolve the structures of flaviviral E1 proteins and identify fusion mechanisms. This strategy can be used to identify structural similarities between fusion proteins in the virosphere.