Priority Research Area Infections

Coinfection

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Techniques

Mouse models
We combine our infection model for tuberculosis with different infection models for malaria in order to investigate the mutual influence of both diseases in the coinfected host.

  • Infection of experimental mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis by aerosol infection (natural route).
  • Infection of mice with the rodent malaria parasites Plasmodium berghei or Plasmodium yoelii:
    • Sporozoite infection via natural by bite transmission or intravenous injection of isolated sporozoites.
    • Blood stage infection via intraperitoneal injection of Plasmodium- infected red blood cells.

 

 


In vitro infection models:

Infection of primary macrophages with M. tuberculosis or M. bovis BCG and Plasmodium-infected red blood cells

 

Techniques

  • Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)
  • Isolation of organs and blood from experimental mice
  • Determining mycobacterial loads in organs or macrophage cultures via colony forming units (CFU)
  • Determining parasitemia in Giemsa-stained blood smears
  • Analysis of the integrity of the blood-brain-barrier by Evans Blue
  • (Immuno-) histochemistry
  • Cytometric bead arrays (CBA) and ELISA to determine cytokines and chemokines in biological samples
  • Nitric oxide assays
  • RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, quantitative RT-PCR
  • Isolation and differentiation of primary mouse cells (bone marrow-derived, peritoneal- and alveolar macrophgages, dendritic cells, T cells)
  • Magnetic Cell Separation (MACS) for the purification of different cell populations or Plasmodium-infected red blood cells
  • Functional T cell analysis (in vitro restimulation, CFSE-based proliferation assays in vitro and in vivo)
  • Flow cytometry
  • Fluorescence microscopy
  • Confocal microscopy
  • Live cell imaging