Junior Research Group 'Virology/Immunology'

Dr. Tanja Breinig

Characterization of human T cell immune responses against different yeast genera
Research into the superinfection of the human immunodeficiency virus HIV using an in vitro infection model

22.12.1972 *
1992: Abitur at 'Gymnasium am Schloß', Saarbruecken.
1992-1998: Study of biology at Saarland University
Major subject: microbiology/biotechnology, Minor subjects: biochemistry, genetics.
1998: Diploma in Microbiology/Biotechnology.
November 2002: PhD in biology. Thesis: 'Research into the pathogenesis of the human immunodeficiency virus HIV: viral latency and functionality of T cell immune responses against microbial pathogens' at the Institute for Virology, Saarland University Homburg, Germany.
December 2002 bis Januar 2004: Postdoc at the Institute for Virology, Saarland University Homburg, Germany.
Since February 2004: Head of the junior research group 'Virology/Immunology' at the 'Human and Molecular Biology Center' (ZHMB) at Saarland University.

Kirschbaum, M., Jaeger, M. S., Schenkel, T., Breinig, T., Meyerhans, A., and Duschl, C. (2008)
T cell activation on a single-cell level in dielectrophoresis-based microfluidic devices.
J Chromatogr A 1202, 83-89.

Scheller, N., Furtwängler, R., Sester, U., Maier, R., Breinig, T., and Meyerhans, A. (2008)
Human cytomegalovirus protein pp65: an efficient protein carrier system into human dendritic cells.
Gene Ther 15, 318-325.

Galao, R. P., Scheller, N., Alves-Rodrigues, I., Breinig, T., Meyerhans, A., and Diez, J. (2007)
Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a versatile eukaryotic system in virology.
Microb Cell Fact 6, 32.

Powilleit, F., Breinig, T., and Schmitt, M.J. (2007)
Exploiting the Yeast L-A Viral Capsid for the In Vivo Assembly of Chimeric VLPs as Platform in Vaccine Development and Foreign Protein Expression.
PLoS ONE 2, e415.

Schütz, A., Scheller, N., Breinig, T., and Meyerhans, A. (2006)
The Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus AcNPV induces functional maturation of human primary monocyte-derived dendritic cells.
Vaccine 24, 7190-96.

Wadle, A.,Held, G.,Neumann, F.,Kleber, S., Wuellner, B., Asemissen, AM., Kubuschok, B., Scheibenbogen, C., Breinig, T., Meyerhans, A., and Renner, C. (2006)
Cross-presentation of HLA class I epitopes from influenza matrix protein produced in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Vaccine 24, 6272-81.

Breinig, T., Sester, M., Sester, U., and Meyerhans, A. (2006)
Antigen-specific T cell responses: Determination of their frequencies, homing properties, and effector functions in human whole blood.
Methods 38, 77-83.

Bocharov, G., Ford, N. J., Edwards, J., Breinig, T., Wain-Hobson, S., and Meyerhans, A. (2005)
A genetic algorithm approach to simulating HIV evolution reveals the strong impact of multiply infected cells and recombination.
J Gen Virol 86, 3109-18.

Meyerhans A, Breinig T., Vartanian J-P., and Wain-Hobson S. (2004)
Forms and Function of Intracellular HIV DNA.
In: HIV Sequence Compendium 2003; pp. 14-21. Edited by: Leitner T, Foley B, Hahn B, Marx P, McCutchan F, Mellors J, Wolinsky S, and Korber B. Theoretical Biology and Biophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, LA-UR number 04-7420.

Breinig, F., Eiden-Plach, A., Breinig, T., and Schmitt, MJ. (2004)
Ein virales Killertoxin-Sekretionssignal zur effizienten Proteinsekretion.
Laborwelt 5, 4-7. [German]

Schmitt et al. (2004)
Foreign proteins targeted to successful secretion in yeast species.
ASM News 70, 185.

Eiden-Plach A., Zagorc T., Heintel T., Carius Y., Breinig F., and Schmitt MJ. (2004)
Viral preprotoxin signal sequence allows efficient secretion of green fluorescent protein by Candida glabrata, Pichia pastoris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 70, 961-66.

Heintel T.*, Breinig F.*, Schmitt MJ., and Meyerhans A. (2003)
Extensive MHC class I-restricted CD8 T lymphocyte responses against various yeast genera in humans.
FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 39, 279-86.

Breinig F*, Heintel T.*, Schumacher A., Meyerhans A., and Schmitt MJ. (2003)
Specific activation of CMV-primed human T lymphocytes by cytomegalovirus pp65 expressed in fission yeast.
FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 38, 231-9.

Heintel T., Sester M., Rodriguez MM., Krieg C., Sester U., Wagner R., Pees HW., Gartner B., Maier R., and Meyerhans A. (2002)
The fraction of perforin-expressing HIV-specific CD8 T cells is a marker for disease progression in HIV infection.
AIDS 26, 1497-501.

Heintel T., Zagorc T., and Schmitt MJ. (2001)
Expression, processing and high level secretion of a virus toxin in fission yeast.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 56; 165-72.

* equally contributing coauthors.