Project Details
Projekt
SFB 655: Cells into Tissues: Stem Cell and Progenitor Commitment and Interactions during Tissue Formation
Subject Area
Medicine
Biology
Biology
Term
from 2005 to 2017
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 12447019
A major challenge for biomedical research in the post-genomic era, and the long-term goal of this Collaborative Research Centre, is to understand, at the level of molecular cell biology, how cells form tissues, and to translate this understanding into bioengineering and medicine. Therefore 15 Project Sections and one Junior Research Group from traditionally separate disciplines of cell and developmental biology, bioengineering and medicine will work together within this Collaborative Research Centre. In combining basic science discoveries with clinical applications in this area the long-term perspective will be to help to overcome the lack of donor organs in transplantation medicine, allow renewal of altered tissues in degenerative disorders and cure patients through cell replacement strategies.
Given the impressive achievements of molecular cell biology in mechanistically dissecting cellular function, the time has come
-- to direct the efforts of molecular cell biologists from cell culture models towards real tissues,
-- to arouse attention to the potential of bioengineering for both cell biology and medicine, and
-- to develop molecular medicine, presently focused on the identification of disease-related genes, to more and more gain insight at the cell biological level.
We expect to gain fundamental insights into the complex processes of tissue formation by concentrating on those cells whose progeny actually make up a tissue, i.e. the somatic stem cells and the progenitor cells derived therefrom. In studying these cells, the research groups of the Collaborative Research Centre focus on two systems which have served as paradigms, albeit for different reasons: the hematopoietic system and the nervous system. On the one hand, bone marrow transplantation in clinical medicine demonstrates - literally daily - that somatic stem cells such as hematopoietic stem cells can be an appropriate starting point to reconstitute even an entire organ system. However, hematopoietic stem cells are poorly understood at the cell biological level, which currently hampers further progress in their medical application. On the other hand, comparatively more is known about the cell biology of neural stem cells, but translation of this knowledge into medical application remains to be developed. By bringing together, under the roof of the same Collaborative Research Centre, research on both hematopoietic and neural stem cells, each of which offer distinct advantages, we hope to fill the existing gaps by learning from the respective other system.
Given the impressive achievements of molecular cell biology in mechanistically dissecting cellular function, the time has come
-- to direct the efforts of molecular cell biologists from cell culture models towards real tissues,
-- to arouse attention to the potential of bioengineering for both cell biology and medicine, and
-- to develop molecular medicine, presently focused on the identification of disease-related genes, to more and more gain insight at the cell biological level.
We expect to gain fundamental insights into the complex processes of tissue formation by concentrating on those cells whose progeny actually make up a tissue, i.e. the somatic stem cells and the progenitor cells derived therefrom. In studying these cells, the research groups of the Collaborative Research Centre focus on two systems which have served as paradigms, albeit for different reasons: the hematopoietic system and the nervous system. On the one hand, bone marrow transplantation in clinical medicine demonstrates - literally daily - that somatic stem cells such as hematopoietic stem cells can be an appropriate starting point to reconstitute even an entire organ system. However, hematopoietic stem cells are poorly understood at the cell biological level, which currently hampers further progress in their medical application. On the other hand, comparatively more is known about the cell biology of neural stem cells, but translation of this knowledge into medical application remains to be developed. By bringing together, under the roof of the same Collaborative Research Centre, research on both hematopoietic and neural stem cells, each of which offer distinct advantages, we hope to fill the existing gaps by learning from the respective other system.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Completed projects
- A01 - Conditional immortalization using mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells and mice to explore lineage commitment (Project Heads Anastassiadis, Konstantinos ; Stewart, Adrian Francis )
- A02 - Basolateral ciliogenesis, basal progenitor delamination, and the formation of the subventricular zone in developing neocortex (Project Head Huttner, Wieland B. )
- A03 - Identification of novel mechanisms involved in adult neurogenesis and vertebrate brain plasticity in zebrafish (Project Head Brand, Michael )
- A04 - From neural stem cell to regenerated spinal cord: Cell proliferation and diversification of neural stem cells during spinal cord regeneration in Ambystoma mexicanium (Project Head Tanaka, Ph.D., Elly Margaret )
- A06 - Chromaffin progenitor cells from the adrenal medulla (Project Heads Bornstein, Ph.D., Stefan R. ; Ehrhart-Bornstein, Monika )
- A07 - Regulated secretion and cell adhesion of pancreatic beta cells (Project Head Solimena, Michele )
- A08 - The role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in neural progenitor cell function (Project Head Breier, Georg )
- A09 - Vascular tube formation (Project Head Lammert, Eckhard )
- A11 - Proliferation versus differentiation: contribution of hematopoietic cells to transdifferentiation processes in vascular proliferative diseases (Project Head Braun-Dullaeus, Rüdiger )
- A12 - Culture of mesenchymal stem cells on BMP-containing bio-artificial matrices to generate interactive niches for early hematopoietic stem cells (Project Heads Bornhäuser, Martin ; Werner, Carsten )
- A13 - Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction of transplanted prominin-1/CD133+ hematopoietic stem cells with mesenchymal stem cells - An essential step in the reconstitution of the hematopoietic system (Project Head Corbeil, Denis )
- A14 - Regulation of cell adhesion, trafficking, and lymphoid tissue formation by SWAP-70 (Project Head Jessberger, Rolf )
- A15 - The role of runx1 in haematopoietic stem cells (Project Head Buchholz, Frank )
- A16 - Interaction of FLT3 and CXCR4 in hematopoietic stem cells (Project Heads Brenner, Sebastian ; Thiede, Christian )
- A17 - Development of chimerism in various tissues after transplantation of prominin-1/CD133 positive hematopoietic stem cells in mice and man (Project Head Ehninger, Gerhard )
- A18 - Characterization of cells suitable for photoreceptor replacement (Project Head Ader, Marius )
- A20 - Corticogenesis and neuronal specification in a mouse model of megalencephaly (Project Head Calegari, Ph.D., Federico )
- A21 - Activity-dependent molecular control of the progression through the distinct precursor cell stages of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (Project Head Kempermann, Gerd )
- A22 - Differentiation and maintenance of zebrafish photoreceptor polarity (Project Head Knust, Elisabeth )
- A23 - Dissecting the role of noradrenaline in regulating adult neurogenesis in neurogenic and non-neurogenic regions (Project Head Storch, Alexander )
- A24 - Hes3+ cells into brain tissue (Project Head Androutsellis-Theotokis, Ph.D., Andreas )
- A25 - Towards a morphological and evolutionary understanding of non-apical progenitors in the zebrafish retina (Project Head Norden, Caren )
- A27 - Signal receptors in the generation of subtype specific motor neuron progenitors (Project Head Gavalas, Ph.D., Anthony )
- B01 - Elucidation of molecular networks controlling lineage commitment of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (Project Heads Anastassiadis, Konstantinos ; Stewart, Adrian Francis )
- B02 - Interactive niches for hematopoietic stem cells based on cell-secreted and synthetic polymer matrices (Project Heads Bornhäuser, Martin ; Werner, Carsten )
- B03 - Characterization and functional relevance of nanotubular highway-like structures that physically link hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells over long distances (Project Head Corbeil, Denis )
- B04 - Regulation of hematopoietic cell differentiation, adhesion, migration, and lymphoid tissue formation by the SWEF proteins (Project Head Jessberger, Rolf )
- B05 - Comparative functional profiling of human stem cells (Project Head Buchholz, Frank )
- B06 - The role of UTX in hematopoiesis (Project Head Brenner, Sebastian )
- B07 - Niche targeting to increase graft size for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Project Heads Ehninger, Gerhard ; Illmer, Thomas ; Thiede, Christian )
- B08 - Role of NFAT (Nuclear Factors of Activated T cells) Transcription Factors in Megakaryopoiesis (Project Head Kiani, Alexander )
- B09 - Sustained engraftment of limited numbers of human hematopoietic stem cells in mice (Project Head Waskow, Claudia )
- B10 - Developmental endothelial locus-1: A regulator of hematopoietic cell adhesion and function (Project Head Chavakis, Triantafyllos )
- B11 - Factors determining engraftment of transplanted hematopoietic stem cells (Project Head Roers, Axel )
- B13 - Iron regulation of the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell niche (Project Heads Hofbauer, Lorenz C. ; Platzbecker, Uwe )
- B16 - Redirection of immune effector cells to improve engraftment of hematopoietic progenitor cells (Project Head Bachmann, Michael )
- N01 - Tissue formation involving stem/progenitor cell research and animal experimentation (Project Head Weidinger, Gilbert )
- Z01 - Central Administration (Project Heads Brand, Michael ; Ehninger, Gerhard )
- Z02 - Deep Sequencing Core Facility and Animal Services (Project Heads Brand, Michael ; Ehninger, Gerhard )
- Z03 - Core facility multi-photon intra-vital microscopy (Project Head Roers, Axel )
Applicant Institution
Technische Universität Dresden
Participating Institution
Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (IPF); Max Bergmann Zentrum für Biomaterialien; Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik (MPI-CBG)
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Gerhard Ehninger
