George Tetz

I have 18 years of experience in microbiological research and drug development with numerous publications.

My research studies the role of cell-free DNA in different human pathologies. I discovered novel regulatory pathways linking gut-microbiome, cell-free DNA to cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. My latest research uncovered bacterial extracellular DNA as novel virulence factor and for the first time showed a universal pathway of its possible implication in triggering diseases associated with prion-protein misfolding. The discovered previously unknown role of bacterial extracellular DNA is not related to protein-coding and is realized by modification of already synthesized proteins, converting them into an altered heat-resistant Tetz-proteins or leading to their aggregation in cross-β structures [Tetz et al, 2020, Tetz et al 2019]. The key milestones in this discovery were that bacterial extracellular DNA can trigger Tau protein misfolding in Alzheimer’s disease models [Tetz et al, 2020]. To conclusively unravel all the particularities involved in the proaggregational role of bacterial DNA and to pave the way for future translational potential of this discovery my work focuses on studying bacterial DNA as a novel virulence factor in different diseases associated with protein misfolding.

November 2020