Author: Marcus Klüssendorf

Human cytomegalovirus infections often have a poor prognosis for disease in immunocompromised cancer patients. While the virus is known to cause pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease, work from the Interdisciplinary Paediatric Tumour and Virus Research Laboratory shows that it also has a direct impact on the effectiveness of cancer therapeutics. For example, the virus causes chemotherapy resistance in neuroblastomas, one of the most common solid tumours in children and adolescents, and leads to increased tumour growth. The research project now supported by the Edmund and Irmgard Römer Foundation with 10.000,- EURO under the direction of Dr. Jens-Uwe Vogel helps to better understand the pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus infections and to advance the development of new therapies. We thank the Edmund and Irmgard Römer Foundation for this important help. This support brings us one step closer to our vision of being able to cure all children suffering from cancer in the future.

The Heinz and Elfriede Ganß Foundation supports with 20,000 euros the acquisition of a required large-capacity nitrogen freezer for the storage of the worldwide unique cell bank with chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells, the “Resistant Cancer Cell Line Collection (RCCL Collection).

This cell bank has been established and maintained for over 30 years by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Paediatric Tumour and Virus Research, which is located in our research building and is headed by Prof. Dr. Jindrich Cinatl. With meanwhile more than 2,500 resistant cancer cells, it represents an essential basis for paediatric cancer research. For example, it is used to research why cancer cells do not (or no longer) react to chemotherapeutic agents. The knowledge gained is used to develop strategies for overcoming this resistance and new, gentle treatment options.

In the coronary pandemic, cells from the RCCL Collection are also used in research work on SARS-CoV2 and thus “incidentally” make an important global research contribution.

We sincerely thank the board of the Heinz and Elfriede Ganß Foundation for this great and important support.