TWINCORE – Seminar Thursday June 13 th , 2013, 1 p.m. TWINCORE Lecture Hall

1. TWINCORE – Seminar Thursday June 13th, 2013, 1 p.m. TWINCORE Lecture Hall „Host defense molecules: natural anti-infectives“ Henk P. Haagsman, Ph.D. Every day humans and animals are exposed to an im- mense number of pathogens trying to invade the body. Therefore, the question is: how do we manage to stay healthy? The molecules that we study are collectins and host defence peptides. We hope that our understanding of the mechanisms of action of natural anti-infectives may lead to strategies to treat or prevent infections and to modulate the inflammatory response Collectins are large collagenous proteins that neutralise influenza A virus (IAV) directly by binding to the glycosylated hemagglutinin molecules on the viral particle. This helps to prevent viral entry into lung epithelial cells. Host Defence Peptides (HDPs) are small peptides with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against a variety of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, fungi, protozoa and some enveloped viruses. We try to identify their exact mode of antimicrobial action in order to develop peptide based antimicrobials and to dissect the intricate interplay of host defence peptides with other components of the immune system. Who is Henk Haagsman? Professor of Molecular Host Defence Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Utrecht University Contact: Dr. Gisa Gerold TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 7, 30625 Hannover, Phone: 0511 22002 7134