Institute for Experimental Immunology

The Institute for Experimental Immunology was founded in 2005 to combine the scientific activities of researching new antigens and developing innovative methods. Here, highly qualified scientists are working together on various projects. Without the Institute for Experimental Immunology, the majority of new developments from EUROIMMUN AG would have been unimaginable.

The most outstanding achievements of the institute include the following:

• The manufacturing of numerous antigens used in EUROIMMUN test systems such as VlsE from borrelia or glycoprotein G from HSV-2
• The development of so-called designer antigens, e.g. PR3-hn-hr, GAF-3X, BP180-NC16A-4X or OspC_adv, which contain naturally occurring molecules optimised for antibody detection by genetic engineering
• The development of RC-IIFT (recombinant-cell IIFT), which contain cells transfected with diagnostically relevant antigens (e.g. NMDAR, aquaporin 4 or desmoglein 1 and 3) and are used predominantly in neurology and dermatology
• The identification of unknown neuronal autoantigens using histo-immunoprecipitation, e.g. neuronal Na+/K+-ATPase (ATP1A3), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 1 (ITPR1), neurochondrin (NCDN)

In 2009 a state-of-the-art mass spectrometer was put into operation at the Dassow subsidiary. With the additional expertise gained through this acquisition, new target antigens could be identified within a very short time, such as CUZD1 and GP-2 in Crohn's disease or DNA-bound lactoferrin in ulcerative colitis.