| The differences in the clinical course of infectious diseases depend on behavioral, environmental, bacterial and host factors. To investigate the contribution of host factors involved in the susceptibility to and severity of infections we follow an integrated approach: 1) a candidate gene approach based on genes involved in innate and acquired immunity, such as NF-kB activation, the IL1 gene family, TNF , Toll-like receptors (2, 4 and 9) and CARD15 ; 2) murine knockout models 3) genetic-epidemiological approaches 4) bacterial typing and 5) functional Immunogenetics. The clinical models comprise: urogenital infections, IBD, periodontitis and AIDS in well-defined patient cohorts. |
