Project Details
Projekt
KFO 167: Regulation of Apoptosis and its Deregulation in Disease
Subject Area
Medicine
Term
from 2006 to 2013
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 29548890
Cell death has long been considered as an accident in the tissue induced by nutrient and oxygen deprivation, infections or poisons. However, during the last two decades it has become clear that cell death occurs through a regulated programme, which is present in all cells. This programme is induced e.g. through hypoxia, damage to DNA or binding of death mediating ligands to so-called death receptors on the surface of cells. The death signal is translated into genetic programmes uniformly present in all cells.
In the last years, key elements of the intracellular cell death cascade have been identified. This discovery has not only stimulated basis research but also led to a new understanding of the pathophysiology of diseases. Thus, decreased cell death is involved in the development of cancer, too much cell death is found for example in diseases of the nervous system and in HIV infection, during which cells of the immune system die by infection through the human immunodeficiency virus which also leads to cell death of non infected cells.
Over the past more than fifteen years, the research lab has made key contributions to cell death pathways. Most importantly, we found that cancer therapy at least to a large proportion mediates its cell death inducing effect by induction of apoptosis. We also contributed to an understanding of cell death in HIV infection. We expect the discovery of cell death pathways provides new insight into the pathophysiology of diseases and provides new opportunities for therapeutic manipulation of deregulated cell death in a variety of diseases. In addition, we expect that the development of new anti-cancer drugs or drugs which inhibit increased cell death.
The newly established Clinical Research Unit consists of projects on cancer such as brain tumors, HIV infection, cell death in the central nervous system, intracellular cell death signalling, and the connection between damage to DNA and apoptosis. The research groups are from Departments of the Medical Faculty of the University of Ulm, including the Department for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department for Gynaecology, Center for Internal Medicine, Institute for Physiological Chemistry, and Institute for Virology. The full professor of Pediatric Research associated with the Clinical Research Unit is expected to be an internationally renowned researcher (Dr. Simone Fulda).
In the last years, key elements of the intracellular cell death cascade have been identified. This discovery has not only stimulated basis research but also led to a new understanding of the pathophysiology of diseases. Thus, decreased cell death is involved in the development of cancer, too much cell death is found for example in diseases of the nervous system and in HIV infection, during which cells of the immune system die by infection through the human immunodeficiency virus which also leads to cell death of non infected cells.
Over the past more than fifteen years, the research lab has made key contributions to cell death pathways. Most importantly, we found that cancer therapy at least to a large proportion mediates its cell death inducing effect by induction of apoptosis. We also contributed to an understanding of cell death in HIV infection. We expect the discovery of cell death pathways provides new insight into the pathophysiology of diseases and provides new opportunities for therapeutic manipulation of deregulated cell death in a variety of diseases. In addition, we expect that the development of new anti-cancer drugs or drugs which inhibit increased cell death.
The newly established Clinical Research Unit consists of projects on cancer such as brain tumors, HIV infection, cell death in the central nervous system, intracellular cell death signalling, and the connection between damage to DNA and apoptosis. The research groups are from Departments of the Medical Faculty of the University of Ulm, including the Department for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department for Gynaecology, Center for Internal Medicine, Institute for Physiological Chemistry, and Institute for Virology. The full professor of Pediatric Research associated with the Clinical Research Unit is expected to be an internationally renowned researcher (Dr. Simone Fulda).
DFG Programme
Clinical Research Units
Projects
- Apoptose-auslösende Mechanismen der Tyrosinkinase TNK1: Funktionelle Charakterisierung des Signalkontexts und möglicher Einsatz in der Tumortherapie (Applicant Seufferlein, Thomas )
- Aufklärung der molekularen Mechanismen gezielter Zerstörung von Glioblastomzellen mit alpha-Partikel Emitter markierte Substanz P (Applicant Friesen, Ph.D., Claudia )
- Charakterisierung der Apoptosesensitivität leukämieinitiierender Zellen in pädiatrischer aktuer lymphoblastischer Leukämie (Applicant Debatin, Klaus-Michael )
- Dysregulation von Apoptose durch Immundefizienzviren (Applicant Kirchhoff, Frank )
- Funktionelle Analyse von p53-abhängigen und p53-unabhängigen Apoptose-Konrollpunkten in Antwort auf Telomerdysfunktion (Applicant Rudolph, Karl Lenhard )
- IKK2/NF-kB induzierte Neuroinflammation und deren Einfluss auf das Überleben und die Transformation neuraler Zellen (Applicant Baumann, Bernd )
- Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs) als pathogenetisch relevante therapeutische Zielstruktur bei der chronischen lymphatischen Leukämie (CLL) (Applicant Stilgenbauer, Stephan )
- Molekulare Charakterisierung von Apoptoseresistenzmechanismen bei malignen Hirntumoren (Applicant Fulda, Simone )
- Rolle der Apoptose bei Krebs verursachenden Chromosomen-Instabilitäten (Applicant Wiesmüller, Elisabeth Maria )
- Zentralprojekt (Applicant Debatin, Klaus-Michael )
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Klaus-Michael Debatin
Leader
Professor Dr. Christian Beltinger, since 1/2013
