Project area B: functional triggers and consequences of inflammation
This project area aims at a deeper understanding of the correlation between the molecular and cellular dynamics of immune cells, environmental triggers and the consequences of inflammation at the level of tissue and organ function. An emphasis will be placed on novel nanoparticle-based multiscale imaging of local endothelial barrier function to quantitatively assess permeability to both solutes and cells. This will allow a unique analysis of the interdependence of endothelial barrier integrity and immune cell extravasation in vivo. Such novel imaging tools will be applied to specific mouse models with genetically modified endothelial barriers and sterile or bacterially triggered inflammation models to assess the degree and organ-specific heterogeneity of inflammation-associated barrier dysfunction and its correlation to immune cell extravasation. Further, the influence of hypoxia as an important environmental trigger and modulator of innate immune responses will be studied in correlation with endothelial barrier integrity and the temporal and spatial dynamics of distinct immune cell populations. Finally, dynamic PET-MRI will be employed for combined contrast-enhanced and radiotracer-based imaging studies to optimize quantification of inflammatory targets.
Projects
- B01 – Quantitative assessment of endothelial permeability by novel scalable BODIPY nanostructures
Principal investigators: Gustavo Fernandez Huertas, Max Masthoff
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024 - B02 – Quantitative MRI of organspecific vascular permeability and immune cell dynamics by combination with mass spectrometric imaging
Principal investigators: Cornelius Faber, Uwe Karst
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024 - B03 – Regulation of vascular permeability and leukocyte extravasation in inflammation: mechanisms and heterogeneity in different organs
Principal investigator: Dietmar Vestweber
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024 - B04 – Multiscale visualisation and analysis of innate immune cell migration at sites of hypoxic inflammation in vivo
Principal investigators: Friedemann Kiefer, Benjamin Risse
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024 - B05 – Mechanisms of NET formation during sterile and bacterial inflammation
Principal investigators: Helena Block, Alexander Zarbock
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024 - B06 – Dynamic PET-MRI for integrated quantification of molecular immune responses and their vascular consequences
Principal investigators: Philipp Backhaus, Florian Büther
Project term: 01/2021–12/2024
- PEP-2023-02: Multi-scale, model-driven image reconstruction of the tumor micro-environment
Principal investigator: Christian Engwer (Institute for Applied Mathematics: Analysis and Numerics)
Project term: 07/2023–06/2024 - CS-2021-02 – Chemokine receptor CXCR4 in the development of hepatic vascularization and congenital portosystemic venous shunting
(related to CRC project B04)
Clinician scientist: Stefanie Bobe (Gerhard-Domagk Institute of Pathology & European Institute for Molecular Imaging)
Scientific and clinical mentors: Friedemann Kiefer, Eva Wardelmann
Project term: 01/2022 - 12/2024