FOR 2240:  (Lymph)Angiogenesis And Cellular Immunity In Inflammatory Diseases Of The Eye

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: since 2015
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 257498687

Blinding diseases of the eye are often age-related and usuallyaccompanied by aberrant inflammatory processes which areassociated with pathological (lymph)angiogenesis. The aim of thisResearch Unit is 1. to better understand the pathogenesis ofinflammatory diseases of the eye and 2. based on that, to developnovel therapeutic concepts to prevent blindness based on indirectmodulation of inflammatory processes via targeting aberrant(lymph)angiogenesis and cellular imunity. The overall objectives ofthis renewal of Research Unit FOR 2240 are: 1. to extend thesuccessfully running projects of the first funding period (2015-2018),2. to add two new projects with timely new aspects of the overalltheme of the FOR 2240 (“role of limbal stem cells in corneallymphangiogenic privilege” and “lymph- and hemangiogenesis inocular graft-versus-host disease”), 3. to add young and femalescientists as well as established experts from associated areas (OCTimaging, UV-induced DNA damage, GvHD) to the group of PIs/Coapplicantsand 4. to further intensify the already ongoing synergisticcooperations between the FOR 2240 projects. Thematically,complementing the open questions from the first funding period, ourconcept is to better understand the pathogenesis of a diverse group ofsight-threatening, immune-mediated, inflammatory and age-relatedeye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), dryeye disease, corneal graft rejection, uveitis and ocular tumors, with aspecial focus on the mechanistic role of pathologic ocular(lymph)angiogenesis and dysregulated cellular immunity. One sign ofour progress that also demonstrates the commitment we have madeto do translationally relevant research are the 4 patent applicationsthat have been filed in the first funding period by FOR PIs. We want tobuild on our successes and continue our efforts to maketranslationally relevant progress in developing new therapeuticconcepts based on a better understanding of key immunological andvascular events in these diseases.

• DFG Programme: Research Units

Projects

• Central Project 1 (Cologne Experimental Eye Imaging Center (CEE-IC)) (Applicant Steven, Philipp )
• Cologne Experimental Eye Imaging Center (CEE-IC) (Applicant Bock, Felix )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Cursiefen, Claus )
• Identification of novel endogenous modulators of developmental and inflammatory lymphangiogenesis by analyzing mouse strain-specific differences (Applicants Clahsen, Thomas ;  Reis, André )
• Identification of novel endogenous modulators of (inflammatory) lymphangiogenesis by analyzing mouse strain-specific differences (Applicants Cursiefen, Claus ;  Reis, André )
• Induction of corneal transplant tolerance by anti(lymph)angiogenic therapy (Applicants Bock, Felix ;  Cursiefen, Claus )
• Lymph- and hemangiogenesis in ocular graft-versus-host disease (Applicant Steven, Philipp )
• Myeloid cell function in corneal hem- and lymphangiogenesis (Applicants Eming, Sabine ;  Hos, Deniz )
• Role of complement receptors and microglia in age-related macular degeneration (Applicant Langmann, Thomas )
• The role of ABCB5-expressing limbal epithelial stem cells in corneal lymphangiogenic privilege and pterygium pathogenesis (Applicant Notara, Ph.D., Maria )
• The role of interleukin (IL)-10 in the pathogenesis of autoimmune uveitis in mice and man (Applicants Grajewski, Rafael ;  Heiligenhaus, Arnd )
• The role of midkine in tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis and metastasis of ocular malignant melanoma. (Applicants Bosch, Jacobus J. ;  Heindl, Ludwig M. )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Claus Cursiefen