Influenza virus pathology

We are living in a densely colonized, poly-microbial environment and even our outer and inner body surfaces are largely covered with microbes. My group in the department of microbiology and molecular medicine studies the impact of acute respiratory infections on the colonization of mucosal surfaces with commensal ("good") and pathological bacteria. We were amongst the first to describe the disturbance of microbial community composition in the context of an influenza A virus (IAV) infection and the role inflammatory processes play in it. Now, we use this knowledge to develop novel antibacterial therapies based on probiotics. We study the function of viral accessory proteins on the innate/inflammatory host immune response on a molecular level. We recently found that a short viral peptide (PB1-F2) is responsible for the antagonism of the NLRP3 inflammasome. This multiprotein complex is responsible for the release of IL1-beta, a key cytokine in proinflammatory responses and important for the host response to viral infections.

Specific expertise

My group has all the genetic tools for manipulation of IAV and we have years of experience with in vitro and in vivo infection models. Using bioinformatic approaches we also characterize the composition of commensal microbial communities on mucosal surfaces under IAV infection conditions.

Selected Publications

.听惭azel-Sanchez B, Iwaszkiewicz J, Pereira Bonifacio Lopes JP, Silva F, Niu C, Strohmeier S, Eletto D, Krammer F, Tan听骋,听Zoete听痴,听Hale聽BG and聽Schmolke听惭.听Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2021;118(36):e2024681118.

. Kaul D, Rathnasinghe R, Ferres M, Tan GS, Barrera A, Pickett BE, Methe BA, Das SR, 聽Budnik I, Halpin RA, Wentworth D , Schmolke M, Mena I , Albrecht RA, Singh I, Nelson KE, Garc铆a-Sastre A, Dupont CL, and Medina RA.听Nature Communications 2020;11(1):2537.

. Yildiz S, Mazel-Sanchez B, Kandasamy M, Manicassamy B, and聽Schmolke M. Microbiome 2018;6(1):9.

.聽Schmolke M,听Patel JR,听de Castro E,听S谩nchez-Aparicio MT,听Uccellini MB,听Miller JC,听Manicassamy B,听Satoh T, Kawai T,听Akira S,听Merad M, and聽Garc铆a-Sastre A.听mBio. 2014 Apr 1;5(2):e01006-14

.听Schmolke M, Manicassamy B,听Pena L, Sutton T, Hai R, Varga ZT,听Hale BG, Steel J,听P茅rez DR, and Garc铆a-Sastre A.听PLoS Pathogens. 2011 Aug;7(8):e1002186

24 Mar 2022

Host response to pathogens

Group Leader

Prof. Mirco SCHMOLKE

UNIGE Faculty of Medicine
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine

CMU
Rue Michel-Servet 1
CH-1211 Gen猫ve 4

Mirco.Schmolke(at)unige.ch
+ 41 22 379 54 84

Lab webpages (Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine)

Short Bio

I studied biology in M眉nster, Germany with a specialization in zoology and microbiology. My PhD thesis at the Robert Koch Institute (Berlin, Germany) focused on the molecular mechanism of action of stem specific, broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV gp41. These antibodies are often found in patients, who control an HIV infection in absence of antiretroviral therapy. As a postdoc I worked in Germany and the United States on molecular pathology of influenza A viruses (IAV) with a focus on the innate/inflammatory response of the host. Since 2014 my group at the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Medicine, CMU, AV短视频, investigates the effects of IAV infection on bacterial colonisation of host mucosal surfaces and the function of viral accessory proteins in the pathology of IAV. Viral accessory proteins are not required for the replication of a virus, but are often essential to antagonise modulate inflammatory antiviral host responses. We use these viral strategies to better understand the function of inflammation in context of infectious disease settings and to develop better vaccines against viral infections.