SFB 589:  Molecular basis of structural and functional barriers in the skin

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: from 2003 to 2007
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5485401

The skin is an organ that forms a barrier against the external environment, and at the same time it allows the organism to communicate with its surroundings. Its composition is highly complex with different cellular systems being compartmentalized by the extracellular matrix (ECM). There is intensive interaction between the compartments which is mediated by individual constituents of the ECM and their specific receptors, resulting in functional regulation. This program aims at elucidating these complex interactions, which are essential prerequisites for the structural and functional features of the barrier and defence mechanisms, at the cellular and molecular level. Disturbed barrier function will be studied "in vivo" and "in vitro" in transgenic mice and human skin and cells, using models such as mechanical injury, infection by microorganisms and UV irradiation. We expect that the systematic analysis of these mechanisms will lead to the discovery of novel structures and functions of the skin. Moreover, it will facilitate our understanding of diseases such as infection, chronic inflammatory reactions and the invasive growth of tumours, affecting the skin and other organs.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• International Connection: United Kingdom

Completed projects

• A01 - The role of cadherin mediated cell-cell adhesion in the epidermis (Project Head Niessen, Carien )
• A02 - The role of Rac1 und PAK1 in dthe maintenance and repair of the qpidermal barrier (Project Head Haase, Ingo )
• A04 - UVA - irradiation, role of mitochrondria in production of reactive oxygen species and repair of mitochondrial and cellular damage (Project Head Wiesner, Rudolf )
• A05 - Novel actin binding proteins that contribute to the dynamic and structural roles of the actin cytoskeleton in formation and maintenance of the dermis and epidermis (Project Head Noegel, Angelika A. )
• A06 - The role of transgultaminases in the establishment and maintenance of the cuteneous barrier function (Project Heads Paulsson, Mats ;  Smyth, Neil R. )
• A07 - Role of the basement membrane proteins nidogen-1 and nidogen-2 for skin physiology and pathology (Project Head Nischt, Roswitha )
• A08 - Functional analysis of a novel transmembrane collagen in skin (Project Head Koch, Manuel )
• A09 - Role of collagen integrin receptors in skin (Project Heads Eckes, Beate ;  Krieg, Thomas )
• B02 - UVA-irradiation- and photosensitizer-induced DNA damage: Analysis of activation of P13-kinase-like kinases and their downstream targets in human skin cells (Project Head Herrmann, Gernot Stefan )
• B08 - Cytokine signalling in human papillomavirus infection: crosstalk of HPV-infected keratinocytes with immune cells (Project Head Smola, Sigrun )
• B09 - The role of interleukin-10 in the regulation of immune responses in the skin: Conditional mutagenesis of the interleukin-10- and the interleukin-10-receptior genes (Project Head Roers, Axel )
• P03 - The role of laminin 5 in skin homeostasis and wound healing (Project Head Arin, Meral Julia )
• P10 - Role of MT1-MMP in wound healing (Project Head Mauch, Cornelia )
• P15 - Negotiation of the cutaneous barrier and dermal immunity by Staphylococcus aureus (Project Heads Krut, Oleg ;  Krönke, Martin ;  Utermöhlen, Olaf )
• Z01 - Zentrale Verwaltungsaufgaben für den SFB (Project Head Krieg, Thomas )
• Z02 - Morphological Service Project - Characterization of tissues and transgenic model systems (Project Heads Krieg, Thomas ;  Schirmacher, Peter ;  Wickenhauser, Claudia )
• Z03 - Standardisation of cell culture and mouse models (Project Heads Haase, Ingo ;  Mauch, Cornelia ;  Pfister, Herbert ;  Smyth, Neil R. )

• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Thomas Krieg