2025

Gerstenberg J, Lübbert C, Widera M, Schleenvoigt BT. The need of preexposure prophylaxis against COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients- an assessment from Germany. Infection. 2025 Apr 22;. doi: 10.1007/s15010-025-02540-w. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 40261482.

2024

Metzdorf K, Jacobsen H, Kim Y, Teixeira Alves LG, Kulkarni U, Brdovčak MC, Materljan J, Eschke K, Chaudhry MZ, Hoffmann M, Bertoglio F, Ruschig M, Hust M, Šustić M, Krmpotić A, Jonjić S, Widera M, Ciesek S, Pöhlmann S, Landthaler M, Čičin-Šain L. A single-dose MCMV-based vaccine elicits long-lasting immune protection in mice against distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants. Front Immunol. 2024;15:1383086. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1383086. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 39119342; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11306140.

Qu B, Miskey C, Gömer A, Kleinert RDV, Ibanez SC, Eberle R, Ebenig A, Postmus D, Nocke MK, Herrmann M, Itotia TK, Herrmann ST, Heinen N, Höck S, Hastert FD, von Rhein C, Schürmann C, Li X, van Zandbergen G, Widera M, Ciesek S, Schnierle BS, Tarr AW, Steinmann E, Goffinet C, Pfaender S, Locker JK, Mühlebach MD, Todt D, Brown RJP. TMPRSS2-mediated SARS-CoV-2 uptake boosts innate immune activation, enhances cytopathology, and drives convergent virus evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Jun 4;121(23):e2407437121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2407437121. Epub 2024 May 30. PubMed PMID: 38814864; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11161796.

Urschel R, Bronder S, Klemis V, Marx S, Hielscher F, Abu-Omar A, Guckelmus C, Schneitler S, Baum C, Becker SL, Gärtner BC, Sester U, Martinez L, Widera M, Schmidt T, Sester M. SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular and humoral immunity after bivalent BA.4/5 COVID-19-vaccination in previously infected and non-infected individuals. Nat Commun. 2024 Apr 9;15(1):3077. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47429-8. PubMed PMID: 38594497; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11004149.

Thümmler L, Beckmann N, Sehl C, Soddemann M, Braß P, Bormann M, Brochhagen L, Elsner C, Hoertel N, Cougoule C, Ciesek S, Widera M, Dittmer U, Lindemann M, Horn PA, Witzke O, Kadow S, Kamler M, Gulbins E, Becker KA, Krawczyk A. Fluoxetine and Sertraline Potently Neutralize the Replication of Distinct SARS-CoV-2 Variants. Viruses. 2024 Mar 30;16(4). doi: 10.3390/v16040545. PubMed PMID: 38675888; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11053511.

Metzdorf K, Jacobsen H, Kim Y, Teixeira Alves LG, Kulkarni U, Eschke K, Chaudhry MZ, Hoffmann M, Bertoglio F, Ruschig M, Hust M, Cokarić Brdovčak M, Materljan J, Šustić M, Krmpotić A, Jonjić S, Widera M, Ciesek S, Pöhlmann S, Landthaler M, Čičin-Šain L. A single-dose MCMV-based vaccine elicits long-lasting immune protection in mice against distinct SARS-CoV-2 variants. bioRxiv. 2024 Feb 15;. doi: 10.1101/2022.11.25.517953. PubMed PMID: 36482969; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9727759.

Bronder S, Mihm J, Urschel R, Klemis V, Schmidt T, Marx S, Abu-Omar A, Hielscher F, Guckelmus C, Widera M, Sester U, Sester M. Potent induction of humoral and cellular immunity after bivalent BA.4/5 mRNA vaccination in dialysis patients. NPJ Vaccines. 2024 Feb 7;9(1):25. doi: 10.1038/s41541-024-00816-0. PubMed PMID: 38326340; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10850212.

Enssle JC, Campe J, Moter A, Voit I, Gessner A, Yu W, Wolf S, Steffen B, Serve H, Bremm M, Huenecke S, Lohoff M, Vehreschild M, Rabenau HF, Widera M, Ciesek S, Oellerich T, Imkeller K, Rieger MA, von Metzler I, Ullrich E. Cytokine-responsive T- and NK-cells portray SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-responders and infection in multiple myeloma patients. Leukemia. 2024 Jan;38(1):168-180. doi: 10.1038/s41375-023-02070-0. Epub 2023 Dec 4. PubMed PMID: 38049509; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10776400.

2023

Roesmann F, Jakobsche I, Pallas C, Wilhelm A, Raffel J, Kohmer N, Toptan T, Berger A, Goetsch U, Ciesek S, Widera M. Comparison of the Ct-values for genomic and subgenomic SARS-CoV-2 RNA reveals limited predictive value for the presence of replication competent virus. J Clin Virol. 2023 Aug;165:105499. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2023.105499. Epub 2023 May 29. PubMed PMID: 37327554; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10226281.

Bormann M, Brochhagen L, Alt M, Otte M, Thümmler L, van de Sand L, Kraiselburd I, Thomas A, Gosch J, Braß P, Ciesek S, Widera M, Dolff S, Dittmer U, Witzke O, Meyer F, Lindemann M, Schönfeld A, Rohn H, Krawczyk A. Immune responses in COVID-19 patients during breakthrough infection with SARS-CoV-2 variants Delta, Omicron-BA.1 and Omicron-BA.5. Front Immunol. 2023;14:1150667. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1150667. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 37520539; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10372796.

Bauer R, Meyer SP, Raue R, Palmer MA, Guerrero Ruiz VM, Cardamone G, Rösser S, Heffels M, Roesmann F, Wilhelm A, Lütjohann D, Zarnack K, Fuhrmann DC, Widera M, Schmid T, Brüne B. Hypoxia-altered cholesterol homeostasis enhances the expression of interferon-stimulated genes upon SARS-CoV-2 infections in monocytes. Front Immunol. 2023;14:1121864. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1121864. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 37377965; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10291055.

Kohmer N, Stein S, Schenk B, Grikscheit K, Metzler M, Rabenau HF, Widera M, Herrmann E, Wicker S, Ciesek S. Heterologous prime-boost immunization with ChAdOx1-S and BNT162b2: reactogenicity and immunogenicity in a prospective cohort study. Int J Infect Dis. 2023 Mar;128:166-175. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2022.12.034. Epub 2022 Dec 30. PubMed PMID: 36587839; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9800011.

Corleis B, Hoffmann D, Rauch S, Fricke C, Roth N, Gergen J, Kovacikova K, Schlottau K, Halwe NJ, Ulrich L, Schön J, Wernike K, Widera M, Ciesek S, Mueller SO, Mettenleiter TC, Maione D, Petsch B, Beer M, Dorhoi A. Efficacy of an unmodified bivalent mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants in female small animal models. Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 13;14(1):816. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36110-1. PubMed PMID: 36781853; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9924835.

Metzdorf K, Jacobsen H, Greweling-Pils MC, Hoffmann M, Lüddecke T, Miller F, Melcher L, Kempf AM, Nehlmeier I, Bruder D, Widera M, Ciesek S, Pöhlmann S, Čičin-Šain L. TMPRSS2 Is Essential for SARS-CoV-2 Beta and Omicron Infection. Viruses. 2023 Jan 18;15(2). doi: 10.3390/v15020271. PubMed PMID: 36851486; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9961888.

2022

Hielscher F, Schmidt T, Klemis V, Wilhelm A, Marx S, Abu-Omar A, Ziegler L, Guckelmus C, Urschel R, Sester U, Widera M, Sester M. NVX-CoV2373-induced cellular and humoral immunity towards parental SARS-CoV-2 and VOCs compared to BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273-regimens. J Clin Virol. 2022 Dec;157:105321. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2022.105321. Epub 2022 Oct 18. PubMed PMID: 36279695; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9576915.

Niemeyer D, Stenzel S, Veith T, Schroeder S, Friedmann K, Weege F, Trimpert J, Heinze J, Richter A, Jansen J, Emanuel J, Kazmierski J, Pott F, Jeworowski LM, Olmer R, Jaboreck MC, Tenner B, Papies J, Walper F, Schmidt ML, Heinemann N, Möncke-Buchner E, Baumgardt M, Hoffmann K, Widera M, Thao TTN, Balázs A, Schulze J, Mache C, Jones TC, Morkel M, Ciesek S, Hanitsch LG, Mall MA, Hocke AC, Thiel V, Osterrieder K, Wolff T, Martin U, Corman VM, Müller MA, Goffinet C, Drosten C. SARS-CoV-2 variant Alpha has a spike-dependent replication advantage over the ancestral B.1 strain in human cells with low ACE2 expression. PLoS Biol. 2022 Nov;20(11):e3001871. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001871. eCollection 2022 Nov. PubMed PMID: 36383605; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9710838.

Barut GT, Halwe NJ, Taddeo A, Kelly JN, Schön J, Ebert N, Ulrich L, Devisme C, Steiner S, Trüeb BS, Hoffmann B, Veiga IB, Leborgne NGF, Moreira EA, Breithaupt A, Wylezich C, Höper D, Wernike K, Godel A, Thomann L, Flück V, Stalder H, Brügger M, Esteves BIO, Zumkehr B, Beilleau G, Kratzel A, Schmied K, Ochsenbein S, Lang RM, Wider M, Machahua C, Dorn P, Marti TM, Funke-Chambour M, Rauch A, Widera M, Ciesek S, Dijkman R, Hoffmann D, Alves MP, Benarafa C, Beer M, Thiel V. The spike gene is a major determinant for the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-BA.1 phenotype. Nat Commun. 2022 Oct 7;13(1):5929. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33632-y. PubMed PMID: 36207334; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9543931.

Veleanu A, Kelch MA, Ye C, Flohr M, Wilhelm A, Widera M, Martinez-Sobrido L, Ciesek S, Toptan T. Molecular Analyses of Clinical Isolates and Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Carrying B.1 and B.1.617.2 Spike Mutations Suggest a Potential Role of Non-Spike Mutations in Infection Kinetics. Viruses. 2022 Sep 12;14(9). doi: 10.3390/v14092017. PubMed PMID: 36146823; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9506066.

Thümmler L, Gäckler A, Bormann M, Ciesek S, Widera M, Rohn H, Fisenkci N, Otte M, Alt M, Dittmer U, Horn PA, Witzke O, Krawczyk A, Lindemann M. Cellular and Humoral Immunity against Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants Is Detectable but Reduced in Vaccinated Kidney Transplant Patients. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Aug 18;10(8). doi: 10.3390/vaccines10081348. PubMed PMID: 36016235; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9412329.

Wilhelm A, Widera M, Grikscheit K, Toptan T, Schenk B, Pallas C, Metzler M, Kohmer N, Hoehl S, Marschalek R, Herrmann E, Helfritz FA, Wolf T, Goetsch U, Ciesek S. Limited neutralisation of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2 by convalescent and vaccine serum and monoclonal antibodies. EBioMedicine. 2022 Aug;82:104158. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.104158. Epub 2022 Jul 11. PubMed PMID: 35834885; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9271884.

Grikscheit K, Rabenau HF, Ghodratian Z, Widera M, Wilhelm A, Toptan Grabmair T, Hoehl S, Layer E, Helfritz F, Ciesek S. Characterization of the Antibody and Interferon-Gamma Release Response after a Second COVID-19 Booster Vaccination. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Jul 21;10(7). doi: 10.3390/vaccines10071163. PubMed PMID: 35891326; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9323888.

Enssle JC, Campe J, Büchel S, Moter A, See F, Grießbaum K, Rieger MA, Wolf S, Ballo O, Steffen B, Serve H, Rabenau HF, Widera M, Bremm M, Huenecke S, Ciesek S, von Metzler I, Ullrich E. Enhanced but variant-dependent serological and cellular immune responses to third-dose BNT162b2 vaccination in patients with multiple myeloma. Cancer Cell. 2022 Jun 13;40(6):587-589. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2022.05.003. Epub 2022 May 8. PubMed PMID: 35588736; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9116569.

Shalamova L, Felgenhauer U, Wilhelm J, Schaubmar AR, Büttner K, Schoen A, Widera M, Ciesek S, Weber F. Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 exhibits an increased resilience to the antiviral type I interferon response. PNAS Nexus. 2022 May;1(2):pgac067. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac067. eCollection 2022 May. PubMed PMID: 36713328; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9802332.

Layer E, Hoehl S, Widera M, Bojkova D, Westphal T, Gottschalk R, Boeddinghaus B, Schork J, Ciesek S, Goetsch U. SARS-CoV-2 screening strategies for returning international travellers: Evaluation of a rapid antigen test approach. Int J Infect Dis. 2022 May;118:126-131. doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2022.02.045. Epub 2022 Mar 2. PubMed PMID: 35247549; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8888351.

Bojkova D, Widera M, Ciesek S, Wass MN, Michaelis M, Cinatl J Jr. Reduced interferon antagonism but similar drug sensitivity in Omicron variant compared to Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Cell Res. 2022 Mar;32(3):319-321. doi: 10.1038/s41422-022-00619-9. Epub 2022 Jan 21. PubMed PMID: 35064226; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8781709.

Romero-Olmedo AJ, Schulz AR, Hochstätter S, Das Gupta D, Virta I, Hirseland H, Staudenraus D, Camara B, Münch C, Hefter V, Sapre S, Krähling V, Müller-Kräuter H, Widera M, Mei HE, Keller C, Lohoff M. Induction of robust cellular and humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 after a third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine in previously unresponsive older adults. Nat Microbiol. 2022 Feb;7(2):195-199. doi: 10.1038/s41564-021-01046-z. Epub 2022 Jan 10. PubMed PMID: 35013593.

Enßle JC, Campe J, Schwenger A, Wiercinska E, Hellstern H, Dürrwald R, Rieger MA, Wolf S, Ballo O, Steffen B, Serve H, Bonig H, Rabenau HF, Widera M, Ciesek S, Metzler IV, Ullrich E. Severe impairment of T-cell responses to BNT162b2 immunization in patients with multiple myeloma. Blood. 2022 Jan 6;139(1):137-142. doi: 10.1182/blood.2021013429. PubMed PMID: 34657156; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8734828.

Wilhelm A, Pallas C, Marschalek R, Widera M. Detection and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 by Real-Time RT-PCR Assay. Methods Mol Biol. 2022;2452:75-98. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2111-0_6. PubMed PMID: 35554902.

2021

Widera M, Wilhelm A, Hoehl S, Pallas C, Kohmer N, Wolf T, Rabenau HF, Corman VM, Drosten C, Vehreschild MJGT, Goetsch U, Gottschalk R, Ciesek S. Limited Neutralization of Authentic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants Carrying E484K In Vitro. J Infect Dis. 2021 Oct 13;224(7):1109-1114. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab355. PubMed PMID: 34223909; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8344430.

Wilhelm A, Toptan T, Pallas C, Wolf T, Goetsch U, Gottschalk R, Vehreschild MJGT, Ciesek S, Widera M. Antibody-Mediated Neutralization of Authentic SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617 Variants Harboring L452R and T478K/E484Q. Viruses. 2021 Aug 26;13(9). doi: 10.3390/v13091693. PubMed PMID: 34578275; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8473269.

Bojkova D, McGreig JE, McLaughlin KM, Masterson SG, Antczak M, Widera M, Krähling V, Ciesek S, Wass MN, Michaelis M, Cinatl J. Differentially conserved amino acid positions may reflect differences in SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV behaviour. Bioinformatics. 2021 Aug 25;37(16):2282-2288. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btab094. PubMed PMID: 33560365; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7929367.

Widera M, Westhaus S, Rabenau HF, Hoehl S, Bojkova D, Cinatl J Jr, Ciesek S. Evaluation of stability and inactivation methods of SARS-CoV-2 in context of laboratory settings. Med Microbiol Immunol. 2021 Aug;210(4):235-244. doi: 10.1007/s00430-021-00716-3. Epub 2021 Jul 1. PubMed PMID: 34196781; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8245923.

Widera M, Wilhelm A, Toptan T, Raffel JM, Kowarz E, Roesmann F, Grözinger F, Siemund AL, Luciano V, Külp M, Reis J, Bracharz S, Pallas C, Ciesek S, Marschalek R. Generation of a Sleeping Beauty Transposon-Based Cellular System for Rapid and Sensitive Screening for Compounds and Cellular Factors Limiting SARS-CoV-2 Replication. Front Microbiol. 2021;12:701198. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.701198. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34394046; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8362758.

Halwe S, Kupke A, Vanshylla K, Liberta F, Gruell H, Zehner M, Rohde C, Krähling V, Gellhorn Serra M, Kreer C, Klüver M, Sauerhering L, Schmidt J, Cai Z, Han F, Young D, Yang G, Widera M, Koch M, Werner A, Kämper L, Becker N, Marlow MS, Eickmann M, Ciesek S, Schiele F, Klein F, Becker S. Intranasal Administration of a Monoclonal Neutralizing Antibody Protects Mice against SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Viruses. 2021 Jul 29;13(8). doi: 10.3390/v13081498. PubMed PMID: 34452363; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8402634.

Widera M, Mühlemann B, Corman VM, Toptan T, Beheim-Schwarzbach J, Kohmer N, Schneider J, Berger A, Veith T, Pallas C, Bleicker T, Goetsch U, Tesch J, Gottschalk R, Jones TC, Ciesek S, Drosten C. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Frankfurt am Main from October to December 2020 Reveals High Viral Diversity Including Spike Mutation N501Y in B.1.1.70 and B.1.1.7. Microorganisms. 2021 Apr 2;9(4). doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9040748. PubMed PMID: 33918332; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8065810.

Kohmer N, Toptan T, Pallas C, Karaca O, Pfeiffer A, Westhaus S, Widera M, Berger A, Hoehl S, Kammel M, Ciesek S, Rabenau HF. The Comparative Clinical Performance of Four SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Tests and Their Correlation to Infectivity In Vitro. J Clin Med. 2021 Jan 17;10(2). doi: 10.3390/jcm10020328. PubMed PMID: 33477365; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7830733.

2020

Shin D, Mukherjee R, Grewe D, Bojkova D, Baek K, Bhattacharya A, Schulz L, Widera M, Mehdipour AR, Tascher G, Geurink PP, Wilhelm A, van der Heden van Noort GJ, Ovaa H, Müller S, Knobeloch KP, Rajalingam K, Schulman BA, Cinatl J, Hummer G, Ciesek S, Dikic I. Papain-like protease regulates SARS-CoV-2 viral spread and innate immunity. Nature. 2020 Nov;587(7835):657-662. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2601-5. Epub 2020 Jul 29. PubMed PMID: 32726803; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7116779.

Bojkova D, Klann K, Koch B, Widera M, Krause D, Ciesek S, Cinatl J, Münch C. Proteomics of SARS-CoV-2-infected host cells reveals therapy targets. Nature. 2020 Jul;583(7816):469-472. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2332-7. Epub 2020 May 14. PubMed PMID: 32408336; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7616921.

Toptan T, Hoehl S, Westhaus S, Bojkova D, Berger A, Rotter B, Hoffmeier K, Cinatl J Jr, Ciesek S, Widera M. Optimized qRT-PCR Approach for the Detection of Intra- and Extra-Cellular SARS-CoV-2 RNAs. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Jun 20;21(12). doi: 10.3390/ijms21124396. PubMed PMID: 32575728; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7352576.

Muenchhoff M, Mairhofer H, Nitschko H, Grzimek-Koschewa N, Hoffmann D, Berger A, Rabenau H, Widera M, Ackermann N, Konrad R, Zange S, Graf A, Krebs S, Blum H, Sing A, Liebl B, Wölfel R, Ciesek S, Drosten C, Protzer U, Boehm S, Keppler OT. Multicentre comparison of quantitative PCR-based assays to detect SARS-CoV-2, Germany, March 2020. Euro Surveill. 2020 Jun;25(24). doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.24.2001057. PubMed PMID: 32583765; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7315722.

Eis-Hübinger AM, Hönemann M, Wenzel JJ, Berger A, Widera M, Schmidt B, Aldabbagh S, Marx B, Streeck H, Ciesek S, Liebert UG, Huzly D, Hengel H, Panning M. Ad hoc laboratory-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 by real-time RT-PCR using minipools of RNA prepared from routine respiratory samples. J Clin Virol. 2020 Jun;127:104381. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104381. Epub 2020 Apr 22. PubMed PMID: 32344319; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7175872.

2023-2024

Roesmann F, Sertznig H, Klaassen K, Wilhelm A, Heininger D, Heß S, Elsner C, Marschalek R, Santiago ML, Esser S, Sutter K, Dittmer U, Widera M. The interferon-regulated host factor hnRNPA0 modulates HIV-1 production by interference with LTR activity, mRNA trafficking, and programmed ribosomal frameshifting. J Virol. 2024 Jul 23;98(7):e0053424. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00534-24. Epub 2024 Jun 20. PubMed PMID: 38899932; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11265465.

Roesmann F, Müller L, Klaassen K, Heß S, Widera M. Interferon-Regulated Expression of Cellular Splicing Factors Modulates Multiple Levels of HIV-1 Gene Expression and Replication. Viruses. 2024 Jun 11;16(6). doi: 10.3390/v16060938. Review. PubMed PMID: 38932230; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11209495.

2021-2022

Packard TA, Schwarzer R, Herzig E, Rao D, Luo X, Egedal JH, Hsiao F, Widera M, Hultquist JF, Grimmett ZW, Messer RJ, Krogan NJ, Deeks SG, Roan NR, Dittmer U, Hasenkrug KJ, Greene WC. CCL2: a Chemokine Potentially Promoting Early Seeding of the Latent HIV Reservoir. mBio. 2022 Oct 26;13(5):e0189122. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01891-22. Epub 2022 Sep 8. PubMed PMID: 36073812; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9600577.

Sertznig H, Roesmann F, Wilhelm A, Heininger D, Bleekmann B, Elsner C, Santiago M, Schuhenn J, Karakoese Z, Benatzy Y, Snodgrass R, Esser S, Sutter K, Dittmer U, Widera M. SRSF1 acts as an IFN-I-regulated cellular dependency factor decisively affecting HIV-1 post-integration steps. Front Immunol. 2022;13:935800. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.935800. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 36458014; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9706209.

2019-2020

Ickler J, Francois S, Widera M, Santiago ML, Dittmer U, Sutter K. HIV infection does not alter interferon α/β receptor 2 expression on mucosal immune cells. PLoS One. 2020;15(1):e0218905. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218905. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 31935222; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6959566.

Sutter K, Lavender KJ, Messer RJ, Widera M, Williams K, Race B, Hasenkrug KJ, Dittmer U. Concurrent administration of IFNα14 and cART in TKO-BLT mice enhances suppression of HIV-1 viremia but does not eliminate the latent reservoir. Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 2;9(1):18089. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-54650-9. PubMed PMID: 31792317; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6889145.

Hillebrand F, Ostermann PN, Müller L, Degrandi D, Erkelenz S, Widera M, Pfeffer K, Schaal H. Gymnotic Delivery of LNA Mixmers Targeting Viral SREs Induces HIV-1 mRNA Degradation. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Mar 3;20(5). doi: 10.3390/ijms20051088. PubMed PMID: 30832397; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6429378.

Verheyen J, Thielen A, Lübke N, Dirks M, Widera M, Dittmer U, Kordelas L, Däumer M, de Jong DCM, Wensing AMJ, Kaiser R, Nijhuis M, Esser S. Rapid Rebound of a Preexisting CXCR4-tropic Human Immunodeficiency Virus Variant After Allogeneic Transplantation With CCR5 Δ32 Homozygous Stem Cells. Clin Infect Dis. 2019 Feb 1;68(4):684-687. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy565. PubMed PMID: 30020413.

2017-2018

Sertznig H, Hillebrand F, Erkelenz S, Schaal H, Widera M. Behind the scenes of HIV-1 replication: Alternative splicing as the dependency factor on the quiet. Virology. 2018 Mar;516:176-188. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2018.01.011. Review. PubMed PMID: 29407375.

Lavender KJ, Pace C, Sutter K, Messer RJ, Pouncey DL, Cummins NW, Natesampillai S, Zheng J, Goldsmith J, Widera M, Van Dis ES, Phillips K, Race B, Dittmer U, Kukolj G, Hasenkrug KJ. An advanced BLT-humanized mouse model for extended HIV-1 cure studies. AIDS. 2018 Jan 2;32(1):1-10. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000001674. PubMed PMID: 29112072; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5718929.

Li Y, Sun B, Esser S, Jessen H, Streeck H, Widera M, Yang R, Dittmer U, Sutter K. Expression Pattern of Individual IFNA Subtypes in Chronic HIV Infection. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2017 Dec;37(12):541-549. doi: 10.1089/jir.2017.0076. PubMed PMID: 29252127.

Brillen AL, Walotka L, Hillebrand F, Müller L, Widera M, Theiss S, Schaal H. Analysis of Competing HIV-1 Splice Donor Sites Uncovers a Tight Cluster of Splicing Regulatory Elements within Exon 2/2b. J Virol. 2017 Jul 15;91(14). doi: 10.1128/JVI.00389-17. Print 2017 Jul 15. PubMed PMID: 28446664; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5487545.

Widera M, Dirks M, Bleekmann B, Jablonka R, Däumer M, Walter H, Ehret R, Verheyen J, Esser S. HIV-1 persistent viremia is frequently followed by episodes of low-level viremia. Med Microbiol Immunol. 2017 Jun;206(3):203-215. doi: 10.1007/s00430-017-0494-1. Epub 2017 Feb 20. PubMed PMID: 28220254; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5409919.

2014-2016

Erkelenz S, Hillebrand F, Widera M, Theiss S, Fayyaz A, Degrandi D, Pfeffer K, Schaal H. Balanced splicing at the Tat-specific HIV-1 3’ss A3 is critical for HIV-1 replication. Retrovirology. 2015 Mar 28;12:29. doi: 10.1186/s12977-015-0154-8. PubMed PMID: 25889056; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4422144.

Widera M, Hillebrand F, Erkelenz S, Vasudevan AA, Münk C, Schaal H. A functional conserved intronic G run in HIV-1 intron 3 is critical to counteract APOBEC3G-mediated host restriction. Retrovirology. 2014 Aug 29;11:72. doi: 10.1186/s12977-014-0072-1. PubMed PMID: 25169827; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4163160.

Erkelenz S, Theiss S, Otte M, Widera M, Peter JO, Schaal H. Genomic HEXploring allows landscaping of novel potential splicing regulatory elements. Nucleic Acids Res. 2014;42(16):10681-97. doi: 10.1093/nar/gku736. Epub 2014 Aug 21. PubMed PMID: 25147205; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4176321.

Hillebrand F, Erkelenz S, Diehl N, Widera M, Noffke J, Avota E, Schneider-Schaulies S, Dabauvalle MC, Schaal H. The PI3K pathway acting on alternative HIV-1 pre-mRNA splicing. J Gen Virol. 2014 Aug;95(Pt 8):1809-1815. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.064618-0. Epub 2014 Apr 30. PubMed PMID: 24784415.

Widera M, Klein AN, Cinar Y, Funke SA, Willbold D, Schaal H. The D-amino acid peptide D3 reduces amyloid fibril boosted HIV-1 infectivity. AIDS Res Ther. 2014 Jan 14;11(1):1. doi: 10.1186/1742-6405-11-1. PubMed PMID: 24422713; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3899924.

2011-2013

Pfeiffer T, Erkelenz S, Widera M, Schaal H, Bosch V. Mutational analysis of the internal membrane proximal domain of the HIV glycoprotein C-terminus. Virology. 2013 May 25;440(1):31-40. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2013.01.025. Epub 2013 Mar 5. PubMed PMID: 23481247.

Widera M, Erkelenz S, Hillebrand F, Krikoni A, Widera D, Kaisers W, Deenen R, Gombert M, Dellen R, Pfeiffer T, Kaltschmidt B, Münk C, Bosch V, Köhrer K, Schaal H. An intronic G run within HIV-1 intron 2 is critical for splicing regulation of vif mRNA. J Virol. 2013 Mar;87(5):2707-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.02755-12. Epub 2012 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 23255806; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3571361.

Corrales-Aguilar E, Trilling M, Reinhard H, Mercé-Maldonado E, Widera M, Schaal H, Zimmermann A, Mandelboim O, Hengel H. A novel assay for detecting virus-specific antibodies triggering activation of Fcγ receptors. J Immunol Methods. 2013 Jan 31;387(1-2):21-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2012.09.006. Epub 2012 Sep 27. PubMed PMID: 23023090.

Wilhelm A, Schoth J, Meinert-Berning C, Bastian D, Blum H, Elsinga G, Graf A, Heijnen L, Ho J, Kluge M, Krebs S, Stange C, Uchaikina A, Dolny R, Wurzbacher C, Drewes JE, Medema G, Tiehm A, Ciesek S, Teichgräber B, Wintgens T, Weber FA, Widera M. Interlaboratory comparison using inactivated SARS-CoV-2 variants as a feasible tool for quality control in COVID-19 wastewater monitoring. Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 10;903:166540. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166540. Epub 2023 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 37634730.

Wilhelm A, Schoth J, Meinert-Berning C, Agrawal S, Bastian D, Orschler L, Ciesek S, Teichgräber B, Wintgens T, Lackner S, Weber FA, Widera M. Wastewater surveillance allows early detection of SARS-CoV-2 omicron in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 10;846:157375. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157375. Epub 2022 Jul 16. PubMed PMID: 35850355; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9287496.

Wilhelm A, Agrawal S, Schoth J, Meinert-Berning C, Bastian D, Orschler L, Ciesek S, Teichgräber B, Wintgens T, Lackner S, Weber FA, Widera M. Early Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 in German Wastewater. Viruses. 2022 Aug 25;14(9). doi: 10.3390/v14091876. PubMed PMID: 36146683; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9503272.

Westhaus S, Weber FA, Schiwy S, Linnemann V, Brinkmann M, Widera M, Greve C, Janke A, Hollert H, Wintgens T, Ciesek S. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in raw and treated wastewater in Germany – Suitability for COVID-19 surveillance and potential transmission risks. Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jan 10;751:141750. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141750. Epub 2020 Aug 18. PubMed PMID: 32861187; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7434407.

Vredenburg, J., Weber, F.-A., Wolber, J.-L., Schirm, I., Sikora, U., Linnemann, V., Schmidt, T., Meinert-Berning, C., Türk, J., Nafo, I., Kraiselburd, I., Meyer, F., Schmithausen, R., Schmiege, D., Moebus, S., Wilhelm, A., Widera, M. (2025): WBEready – Roadmap für ein adaptives Abwassermonitoring zur Umsetzung der EU-Kommunalabwasserrichtlinie. Gewässerschutz – Wasser – Abwasser,
Band 259, Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Instituts für Siedlungswasserwirtschaft an der RWTH Aachen e.V., Aachen. ISBN 978-3-938996-65-2

Vredenburg, J., Weber, F.-A., Wolber, J.-L., Schirm, I., Sikora, U., Linnemann, V., Schmidt, T., Meinert-Berning, C., Türk, J., Nafo, I., Kraiselburd, I., Meyer, F., Schmithausen, R., Schmiege, D., Moebus, S., Wilhelm, A., Widera, M. (2025): Abwasserbasierte Epidemiologie und Preparedness:
Forschungsbedarf für eine Roadmap zum Aufbau adaptiver Monitoringkapazitäten im Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienst (WBEready). Schlussbericht im BMG-Verbundvorhaben WBEready, Förderkennzeichen
ZMII2-2523COR10A-E, FiW e. V., Aachen.

Weber, F.-A., Vredenburg, J., Wolber, J.-L., Schirm, I., Sikora, U., Linnemann, V., Schmidt, T., Meinert-Berning, C., Türk, J., Nafo, I., Kraiselburd, I., Meyer, F., Schmithausen, R., Schmiege, D., Moebus, S., Wilhelm, A., Widera, M. (2025): Abwasserbasierte Epidemiologie: Roadmap zum Aufbau dezentraler Monitoringkapazitäten in der Abwasserwirtschaft – Roadmap und Ergebnisse des Verbundvorhabens WBEready. Produkt im BMG-Verbundvorhaben WBEready, Förderkennzeichen ZMII2-2523COR10A-E, FiW e. V., Aachen. DOWNLOAD

Weber, F.-A., Bastian, D., Schoth, J., Wilhelm, A., Dolny, R., Sikora, U., Wintgens, T., Linnemann, V., Jagemann, P., Teichgräber, B., Widera, M. (2023): Dezentrales SARS-CoV-2 Monitoring im Abwasser: Entwicklung einer validierten Analysemethode für abwassertechnische Labore auf Kläranlagen (COVIDready). Schlussbericht im BMBF-Verbundvorhaben, Förderkennzeichen
02WRS1621A-D, FiW e.V., Aachen. DOWNLOAD

Jens Schoth, Daniel Bastian, Alexander Wilhelm, Christina Meinert-Berning, Burkhard Teichgräber, Frank-Andreas Weber, Marek Widera
COVIDready – Erkenntnisse aus 18 Monaten dezentralem SARS-CoV-2-Monitoring im Abwasser in Nordrhein-Westfalen
https://doi.org/10.1002/vomw.202300019

Hörauf JA, Schindler CR, Schaible I, Wang M, Weber B, El Saman A, Pallas C, Widera M, Marzi I, Henrich D, Leppik L. Extracellular vesicles epitopes as potential biomarker candidates in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury. Front Immunol. 2024;15:1478786. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1478786. eCollection 2024. PubMed PMID: 39703513; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11656158.

Weber B, Ritter A, Han J, Schaible I, Sturm R, Relja B, Huber-Lang M, Hildebrand F, Pallas C, Widera M, Henrich D, Marzi I, Leppik L. Development of a Sampling and Storage Protocol of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)-Establishment of the First EV Biobank for Polytraumatized Patients. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 22;25(11). doi: 10.3390/ijms25115645. PubMed PMID: 38891833; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11172154.

König P, Wilhelm A, Schaudinn C, Poehlein A, Daniel R, Widera M, Averhoff B, Müller V. The VBNC state: a fundamental survival strategy of Acinetobacter baumannii. mBio. 2023 Oct 31;14(5):e0213923. doi: 10.1128/mbio.02139-23. Epub 2023 Sep 28. PubMed PMID: 37768061; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10653857.

Hottenträger B, Hagedorn HJ, Bäcker E, Bleekmann B, Gessner A, Lübke N, Wenzel JJ, Widera M, Pabinger S, Ramge P, Timm J. Multicenter Performance Evaluation of Elecsys Anti-HBc II, Anti-HCV II, HIV combi PT, HBsAg II, and Syphilis Immunoassays. Clin Lab. 2021 Nov 1;67(11). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2021.210201. PubMed PMID: 34758213.

Stefani D, Hegedues B, Collaud S, Zaatar M, Ploenes T, Valdivia D, Elsner C, Bleekmann B, Widera M, Dittmer U, Aigner C. Torque Teno Virus load in lung cancer patients correlates with age but not with tumor stage. PLoS One. 2021;16(6):e0252304. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252304. eCollection 2021. PubMed PMID: 34077485; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8171866.

Cherneha M, Korth J, Kaulfuß M, Trilling M, Widera M, Rohn H, Dolff S, Babel N, Hoerning A, Kribben A, Witzke O. Reactivations of Latent Viral Infections Are Associated with an Increased Thr389 p70S6k Phosphorylation in Peripheral Lymphocytes of Renal Transplant Recipients. Viruses. 2021 Mar 6;13(3). doi: 10.3390/v13030424. PubMed PMID: 33800846; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8000484.

Rueschenbaum S, Ciesek S, Queck A, Widera M, Schwarzkopf K, Brüne B, Welsch C, Wedemeyer H, Zeuzem S, Weigert A, Lange CM. Dysregulated Adaptive Immunity Is an Early Event in Liver Cirrhosis Preceding Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure. Front Immunol. 2020;11:534731. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.534731. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 33574809; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7870861.

Ruzsics Z, Hoffmann K, Riedl A, Krawczyk A, Widera M, Sertznig H, Schipper L, Kapper-Falcone V, Debreczeny M, Ernst W, Grabherr R, Hengel H, Harant H. A Novel, Broad-Acting Peptide Inhibitor of Double-Stranded DNA Virus Gene Expression and Replication. Front Microbiol. 2020;11:601555. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.601555. eCollection 2020. PubMed PMID: 33281801; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7705112.

Tao S, Tao R, Busch DH, Widera M, Schaal H, Drexler I. Sequestration of Late Antigens Within Viral Factories Impairs MVA Vector-Induced Protective Memory CTL Responses. Front Immunol. 2019;10:2850. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02850. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 31867011; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6904312.

Anastasiou OE, Theissen M, Verheyen J, Bleekmann B, Wedemeyer H, Widera M, Ciesek S. Clinical and Virological Aspects of HBV Reactivation: A Focus on Acute Liver Failure. Viruses. 2019 Sep 16;11(9). doi: 10.3390/v11090863. PubMed PMID: 31527514; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6784066.

Korth J, Sertznig H, Moyrer S, Doevelaar AAN, Westhoff TH, Babel N, Witzke O, Kribben A, Dittmer U, Widera M. Measurement of BK-polyomavirus Non-Coding Control Region Driven Transcriptional Activity Via Flow Cytometry. J Vis Exp. 2019 Jul 13;(149). doi: 10.3791/59755. PubMed PMID: 31355784.

Korth J, Anastasiou OE, Bräsen JH, Brinkhoff A, Lehmann U, Kribben A, Dittmer U, Verheyen J, Wilde B, Ciesek S, Witzke O, Widera M. The detection of BKPyV genotypes II and IV after renal transplantation as a simple tool for risk assessment for PyVAN and transplant outcome already at early stages of BKPyV reactivation. J Clin Virol. 2019 Apr;113:14-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jcv.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Feb 10. PubMed PMID: 30771597.

Anastasiou OE, Widera M, Westhaus S, Timmer L, Korth J, Gerken G, Canbay A, Todt D, Steinmann E, Schwarz T, Timm J, Verheyen J, Ciesek S. Clinical Outcome and Viral Genome Variability of Hepatitis B Virus-Induced Acute Liver Failure. Hepatology. 2019 Mar;69(3):993-1003. doi: 10.1002/hep.30279. Epub 2019 Feb 11. PubMed PMID: 30229977.