TRR 425:  Desmosomal dysfunction in epithelial barriers (DEFINE)

• Subject Area: Medicine ; Biology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547068789

No abstract available

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios

Current projects

• A01 - Adherens junction and desmosome interactions in epithelial barriers in health and autoimmune disease (Project Heads Grashoff, Carsten ;  Niessen, Carien )
• A02 - Control of desmosome function by B-plexins (Project Heads Schmitt, Thomas ;  Worzfeld, Thomas )
• A03 - Super-resolution force spectroscopy to delineate early pathogenic effects of autoantibodies and cytokines in desmosome dysfunction (Project Head Fuchs, Michael )
• A04 - Contribution of early life microbial priming to desmosome-mediated barrier function in cutaneous and intestinal epithelia under steady-state and inflammatory conditions (Project Heads Gomez de Agüero, Mercedes ;  Misselwitz, Benjamin )
• A05 - Desmosome regulation in organoid models for mucosal and epidermal barrier dysfunction (Project Heads Kretzschmar, Ph.D., Kai ;  Meir, Michael )
• B01 - Inflammatory signature in pemphigus (Project Heads Hertl, Michael ;  Jung, Anna Lena )
• B02 - Regulation and modulation of T/B cell interactions, and implications of the IL-17/IL-23 axis in pemphigus (Project Heads Huber, Magdalena ;  Möbs, Christian )
• B03 - Cell death and the innate immune response caused by desmoglein dysfunction (Project Heads Lauffer, Ph.D., Felix ;  Yazdi, Amir Sadegh )
• B04 - Stabilisation of keratinocyte adhesion in pemphigus (Project Head Waschke, Jens )
• B05 - Hyper-adhesion and mechanical stress to treat pemphigus (Project Head Hartig-Vielmuth, Franziska )
• B06 - Identification of new treatment options to stabilise cell adhesion in desmosome diseases (Project Heads Ludwig, Ralf Joachim ;  Schmidt, Enno ;  Waschke, Jens )
• C01 - Role and mechanisms underlying desmoglein 2 (Dsg2) truncation and deficiency in the intestinal epithelium (Project Heads Kugelmann, Daniela ;  Schlegel, Nicolas )
• C02 - Regulation of barrier integrity by Armadillo proteins in digestive tract inflammation (Project Heads Gerull, Brenda ;  Kelm, Matthias )
• C03 - Barrier dysregulation and T cell immunity in digestive tract inflammation (Project Heads Schwerd, Tobias ;  Strnad, Pavel )
• C04 - Exploration of genetic alterations affecting desmosomes and tight junctions in childhood inflammatory bowel disease (Project Head Kotlarz, Daniel )
• C05 - Role of desmosomal adhesion for wound healing and TJ formation for mucosal wound healing (Project Heads Flemming, Sven ;  Kollmann, Cathérine )
• CP1 - Single cell multiomics and transcriptome analyses (Project Head Garn, Holger )
• CP2 - Preclinical disease models of desmosome dysfunction (Project Heads Hudemann, Christoph ;  Otto, Christoph )
• CP3 - Biobanking from patients with intestinal and skin diseases for research on desmosome-mediated barrier function (Project Heads Goebeler, Matthias ;  Misselwitz, Benjamin )
• CP4 - The Integrated Research Training Group (Project Heads Hahner, Stefanie ;  Pfützner, Wolfgang ;  Sigmund, Anna Magdalena )
• CP5 - Central tasks of the Collaborative Research Centre (Project Head Hertl, Michael )

• Applicant Institution: Philipps-Universität Marburg
• Co-Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Participating University: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen; Universität Münster; Universität zu Köln; Universität zu Lübeck
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Michael Hertl