Sigal Lab

The intestine has a complex anatomical structure that includes “crypts.” Researchers led by Michael Sigal have now reconstructed these glands. In “Nature Communications”, they describe how the cells communicate with each other and how people with gut disorders could benefit from their findings.

They have their sights set on serious diseases: Gabriele G. Schiattarella analyzes mechanisms of heart failure, Simon Haas wants to improve immunotherapies for leukemia and Michael Sigal would like to prevent gastrointestinal diseases. Now, the ERC is awarding the researchers with a Starting Grant.

When the bacterium Helicobacter pylori infects the stomach, it causes inflammation and increases the risk of stomach cancer. In “Nature Communications” researchers from Charité and MDC elucidate changes which occur inside the gastric glands during an infection. The findings may herald a new treatment target in stomach cancer.

The immune system actually wants to fight SARS-CoV-2 with antiviral signaling molecules. But a research team from Charité and MDC has now shown how such a signaling molecule can promote the replication of the virus. The results have been published in the journal "EMBO Molecular Medicine".

MDC welcomes a new guest PI: Dr. Michael Sigal, a clinician scientist at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin who studies how stem cells contribute to gastrointestinal disorders and cancer. He is excited to partner with MDC to explore the gut’s interior lining on the single cell level.