TRR 127: Biology of xenogeneic cell and organ transplantation - from bench to bedside
- Speaker: Professor Dr. Bruno Reichart (Department of Cardiac Surgery), Professor Dr. Eckhard Wolf (Chair for Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center LMU Munich)
- Funding: since 2012
For many seriously ill patients, such as terminal organ failure or some chronic diseases, transplantation is an established and effective form of therapy. However, the demand for donor organs far exceeds the supply. This is why many researchers rely on xenotransplantation, i.e. the transplantation of animal tissue or organs - both of which are normally quickly rejected in the human body. Transgenic pigs are now expected to overcome this problem: With their help, the scientists of the new SFB, which will be funded with a total of 12.8 million euros from 1 July 2012, hope to better understand and ultimately suppress the immune reaction against foreign tissue. One of the researchers' goals is to develop new transgenic pig lines whose tissue causes fewer rejection reactions. This tissue will then be investigated in both preclinical and clinical studies - with a particular focus on xenotransplantation of islet cells in type 1 diabetes. In addition to the LMU as the host university, the TU Munich, the Hannover Medical School, the TU Dresden and, as non-university institutions, the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the Friedrich Löffler Institute, the German Primate Centre, the Paul Ehrlich Institute and the Robert Koch Institute are also involved in the new SFB/Transregio. Coordinator of the SFB is Professor Bruno Reichart from the University Hospital of Munich.
Source: DFG Gepris