Center for Virology
Position: Research Associate (Postdoc)
ORCID: 0000-0003-3993-6538
hannes.vietzen@meduniwien.ac.at
Keywords
Adaptive NK Cells; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Non-neutralizing Antibodies; Virology
Research interests
Our main research interest focuses on viral infections and antiviral NK cell responses in immunocompetent individuals and immunocompromised transplant recipients. We are fascinated by the interaction of human NK cells with immune evasion mechanisms of infecting persistent Herpes- and Anelloviruses. We further attempt to understand, why distinct virus-specific and HLA-E-mediated immune responses result in severe viral diseases.
Techniques, methods & infrastructure
Our scientific challenges are addressed using a multidisciplinary approach with techniques from molecular cell biology, cell culture, immune cell isolations, fluorescence microscopy, immunological assays and flow-cytometry.
Selected publications
- Vietzen, H. et al. (2023) ‘Ineffective control of Epstein-Barr-virus-induced autoimmunity increases the risk for multiple sclerosis’, Cell, 186(26), pp. 5705-5718.e13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.11.015.
- Vietzen, H. et al. (2023) ‘HLA-E–restricted immune responses are crucial for the control of EBV infections and the prevention of PTLD’, Blood, 141(13), pp. 1560–1573. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2022017650.
- Vietzen, H., Jaksch, P. and Puchhammer-Stöckl, E. (2023) ‘The human cytomegalovirus-specific and UL40-mediated imprint in the natural killer cell repertoire is associated with antibody-mediated rejection in lung transplant recipients’, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 42(3), pp. 305–314. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healun.2022.10.014.
- Vietzen, H. et al. (2021) ‘Extent of Cytomegalovirus Replication in the Human Host Depends on Variations of the HLA-E/UL40 Axis’, mBio. Edited by D. Paraskevis, 12(2). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02996-20.
- Vietzen, H. et al. (2021) ‘Deletion of the NKG2C receptor encoding KLRC2 gene and HLA-E variants are risk factors for severe COVID-19’, Genetics in Medicine, 23(5), pp. 963–967. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41436-020-01077-7.