Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl, MD, Prof
Center for Virology
Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 40160 65500
FAX: +43 1 40160 965599
E-mail: elisabeth.puchhammer@meduniwien.ac.at
Our main interest is to analyse infections with persistent human viruses, as Herpesviruses or Anelloviruses, to reveal their interaction with the immune system of the infected host, and to investigate their impact especially on immunosuppressed patients.
Persistent viruses stay after primary infection within the host during his or her life time. Their role in the immunocompetent host, especially in regard of aging and chronic immune stimulation, is yet unclear, but it is supposed that they have a substantial impact on human health and disease. In the immunosuppressed host, as transplant recipients, these viruses, as i.e. Herpesviruses or Polyomaviruses, may cause severe, even life threatening infections.
Our current main subject of research in this field is, in particular, the interaction of viruses (in particular of Human Cytomegalovirus) with the humoral immune system and with antiviral NK-cell defence, and the impact of distinct human genetic variations on virus replication. Also, we analyse the use of nonpathogenic persistent viruses, as Anelloviruses, as marker for the individual level of immunosuppression after transplantation and we perform studies to reveal the human virome and the kinetics of persistent virus strain populations over time.
In addition, we are since many years part of an international study group, with the aim to assess on a European level emergence and distribution of drug resistant HIV- and other virus strains.
Irene Görzer, PhD
Center for Virology
Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43 1 40160 65573
FAX: +43 1 40160 965599
E-mail: irene.goerzer@meduniwien.ac.at
We are highly interested in the diversity of virus genomes as it appears in human infections and how it is associated with clinical disease and outcome. A special focus relies on mixed virus infections and their dynamics in the individual human host. This knowledge is important for understanding virus-host interaction and pathogenesis.
Our main research interest is on Human Cytomegalovirus, a major cause of serious illness in congenitally infected newborns and transplant patients under severe immunosuppression. One current project aims to characterize Cytomegalovirus strains in clinical samples using highly sensitive sequencing tools in order to uncover the occurrence and dynamic of mixed virus strain populations in the infected host and to reveal any association of certain strains or mixtures thereof with clinical outcome.
A further research project aims to understand the biological, biochemical and structural properties of the different Cytomegalovirus strains by focusing on polymorphic envelope glycoproteins involved in cell tropism.
Seletced Publications
Dissection of the HCMV-Specific Antibody Responses in Lung-Transplant Recipients.
Vietzen H, Jaksch P, Görzer I, Honsig C, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020 Apr;39(4S):S83. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.01.1309. Epub 2020 Mar 30. PMID: 32466045
Impact of Human HLA-E and NKG2C Variants and of HCMV Ul40 Genotype Populations on HCMV Replication in Lung Transplant Recipients.
Vietzen H, Hartenberger S, Jaksch P, Honsig C, Geleff S, Segura-Wang M, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020 Apr;39(4S):S82-S83. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.01.1308. Epub 2020 Mar 30. PMID: 32466041
Torque Teno Virus (TTV) Kinetics Can Predict Complications after Lung Transplantation.
Jaksch P, Benazzo A, Schwarz S, Gabriella M, Hielle-Wittmann E, Lambers C, Hötzenecker K, Klepetko W, Görzer I, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2020 Apr;39(4S):S321. doi: 10.1016/j.healun.2020.01.724. Epub 2020 Mar 30. PMID: 32465402
Influence of human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein O polymorphism on the inhibitory effect of soluble forms of trimer- and pentamer-specific entry receptors.
Brait N, Stögerer T, Kalser J, Adler B, Kunz I, Benesch M, Kropff B, Mach M, Puchhammer-Stöckl E, Görzer I. J Virol. 2020 Apr 29:JVI.00107-20. doi: 10.1128/JVI.00107-20. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32350071
HCMV-Specific Antibody Response And Development Of ADCC Against HCMV After Lung Transplantation.
Vietzen H, Görzer I, Honsig C, Jaksch P, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Infect Dis. 2020 Mar 11:jiaa097. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa097. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32157310
Torque Teno Virus as a novel biomarker targeting the efficacy of immunosuppression after lung transplantation. Jaksch P, Kundi M, Görzer I, Muraközy G, Christopher L, Benazzo A, Hoetzenecker K, Klepetko W, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Infect Dis. 2018 Jul 20, doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy452. [Epub ahead of print]
Temporal dynamics of the lung and plasma viromes in lung transplant recipients. Segura-Wang M, Görzer I, Jaksch P, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 6;13(7)
NKG2C Deletion is a Risk Factor for Human Cytomegalovirus-Viremia and Disease after Lung Transplantation. Vietzen H, Pollak K, Honsig C, Jaksch P, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Infect Dis. 2018 Feb 14;217(5):802-806.
Differences in Growth Properties among two Human Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein O Genotypes, Kalser J, Barbara Adler, Michael Mach, Barbara Kropff, Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl, Irene Görzer, Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017 Aug 22; 8:1609
Association between antibody functions and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication after lung transplantation in HCMV-seropositive patients. Vietzen H, Görzer I, Honsig C, Jaksch P, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2017 Jul 18 : S1053-2498(17)31901.
Association between plasma Torque Teno Virus level and chronic lung allograft dysfunction after lung transplantation. Görzer I, Jaksch P, Strassl R, Klepetko W, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Heart Lung Transplant.2017 Mar;36(3):366-368
Intrapulmonary Human Cytomegalovirus replication in lung transplant recipients is associated with a rise of CCL-18 and CCL-20 chemokine levels. Weseslindtner L , Görzer I, Rödl K, Jaksch P, Klepetko W and Puchhammer-Stöckl E. Transplantation. 2017 Jan;101(1):197-203
Association of Human IgG1 Heavy Chain Variants with Neutralization Capacity and Antibody Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity against HCMV. Vietzen H, Görzer I and Puchhammer-Stöckl E. J Infect Dis. 2016 Oct 15;214(8):1175-9.
Transmission of HIV drug resistance and the predicted effect on current first-line regimens in Europe L. Marije Hofstra1,2, Nicolas Sauvageot1, Jan Albert3,25, Ivailo Alexiev4, Federico Garcia5, Daniel Struck1, David A.M.C. Van de Vijver6, Birgitta Åsjö7, Danail Beshkov4, Suzie Coughlan8, Diane Descamps9, Algirdas Griskevicius10, Osamah Hamouda11, Andrzej Horban12, Marjo Van Kasteren13, Tatjana Kolupajeva14, Leondios G. Kostrikis15, Kirsi Liitsola16, Marek Linka17, Orna Mor18, Claus Nielsen19, Dan Otelea20, Dimitrios Paraskevis21, Roger Paredes22, Mario Poljak23, Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl24, Anders Sönnerborg3,25, Danica Staneková26, Maja Stanojevic27, Kristel Van Laethem28, Maurizio Zazzi29, Snjezana Zidovec Lepej30, Charles A.B. Boucher6, Jean-Claude Schmit1 and Annemarie M.J. Wensing2 on behalf of the SPREAD program Clin Infect Dis. 2016 Mar 1;62(5):655-63
Subclass specific antibody responses to Human Cytomegalovirus in lung transplant recipients and their association with constant heavy IgG chain polymorphism and virus replication. Simon B., Weseslindtner L, Görzer I, Pollak K, Jaksch P, Klepetko W and Puchhammer-Stöckl E, J Heart Lung Transplant. 2016 Mar;35(3):370-7.
Combined Analysis of the Prevalence of drug Resistant HBV in antiviral therapy Experienced patients in Europe (CAPRE). Hermans LE, Svicher V, Pas SD, Salpini R, Alvarez M, Ben Ari Z, Boland G, Bruzzone B, Coppola N, Seguin-Devaux C, Dyda T, Garcia F, Kaiser R, Köse S, Krarup H, Lazarevic I, Lunar MM, Maylin S, Micheli V, Mor O, Paraschiv S, Paraskevis D, Poljak M, Puchhammer-Stöckl E, Simon F, Stanojevic M, Stene-Johansen K, Tihic N, Trimoulet P, Verheyen J, Vince A, Weis N, Yalcinkaya T, Zidovec Lepej S, Perno C, Boucher CA, Wensing AM; HEPVIR working group of the European Society for translational antiviral research (ESAR). J Infect Dis. 2015 Jul 1
Pre-transplant plasma torque teno virus load and increase dynamics after lung transplantation. Görzer I, Jaksch P, Kundi M, Seitz T, Klepetko W, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. PLoS One. 2015 Apr 20;10(3):e0122975
TTV-DNA Plasma Load and its Association with Age, Gender, and HCMV IgG-serostatus in Healthy Adults. Haloschan M, Bettesch R, Görzer I, Weseslindtner L, Kundi M, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. Age . 2014 Oct;36(5):9716.
High CXCL-16 levels correlate with symptomatic disease in lung transplant recipients with Human Cytomegalovirus replication in the allograft. Weseslindtner L, Görzer I, Küng E, Roedl K, Jaksch P, Klepetko W, Puchhammer-Stöckl E. Am J Transplant. 2014 Oct;14(10):2406-11.