Schnitt durch den Hippocampus
© Thomas Müller

C. Birchmeier Lab

Developmental Biology / Signal Transduction

Our lab focuses on functional analysis of genes important in development and stem cells, concentrating on muscle, the nervous system and endocrine organs.

We observe that many genes control both, developmental and regenerative processes in the adult. For our work, we use mouse genetics and stem cells culture, and define molecular mechanisms by genomic and proteomic technologies.

Publications

/ Cell Stem Cell

Regulation of developmental tempo in different vertebrate species

  • C. Birchmeier
/ Cell Rep

c-Maf-positive spinal cord neurons are critical elements of a dorsal horn circuit for mechanical hypersensitivity in neuropathy

  • N. Frezel
  • M. Ranucci
  • E. Foster
  • H. Wende
  • P. Pelczar
  • R. Mendes
  • R.P. Ganley
  • K. Werynska
  • S. d'Aquin
  • C. Beccarini
  • C. Birchmeier
  • H.U. Zeilhofer
  • H. Wildner
/ eLife

Molecular characterization of the intact mouse muscle spindle using a multi-omics approach

  • B. Bornstein
  • L. Heinemann-Yerushalmi
  • S. Krief
  • R. Adler
  • B. Dassa
  • D. Leshkowitz
  • M.C. Kim
  • G. Bewick
  • R.W. Banks
  • E. Zelzer
/ Methods Mol Biol

Visualizing MyoD oscillations in muscle stem cells

  • I. Lahmann
  • C. Birchmeier
/ Front Mol Neurosci

Transcription factors regulating the specification of brainstem respiratory neurons

  • Y. Xia
  • K. Cui
  • A. Alonso
  • E.D. Lowenstein
  • L.R. Hernandez-Miranda
/ Nat Commun

Molecular identity of proprioceptor subtypes innervating different muscle groups in mice

  • S. Dietrich
  • C. Company
  • K. Song
  • E.D. Lowenstein
  • L. Riedel
  • C. Birchmeier
  • G. Gargiulo
  • N. Zampieri
/ Nat Commun

Mafa-dependent GABAergic activity promotes mouse neonatal apneas

  • L. Lecoin
  • B. Dempsey
  • A. Garancher
  • S. Bourane
  • P.L. Ruffault
  • M.P. Morin-Surun
  • N. Rocques
  • M. Goulding
  • A. Eychène
  • C. Pouponnot
  • G. Fortin
  • J. Champagnat
/ FEBS J

Regulation of early cerebellar development

  • E. Lowenstein
  • K. Cui
  • L.R. Hernandez-Miranda
/ Cells

SMER28 attenuates PI3K/mTOR signaling by direct inhibition of PI3K p110 delta

  • M. Kirchenwitz
  • S. Stahnke
  • S. Prettin
  • M. Borowiak
  • L. Menke
  • C. Sieben
  • C. Birchmeier
  • K. Rottner
  • T.E.B. Stradal
  • A. Steffen
/ Exp Cell Res

An oscillatory network controlling self-renewal of skeletal muscle stem cells

  • I. Lahmann
  • Y. Zhang
  • K. Baum
  • J. Wolf
  • C. Birchmeier

News

Carmen Birchmeier
Science

The cartographer of life

Muscle cells are very good at repairing damage. But if this fails, stem cells step in to regenerate the tissue. Carmen Birchmeier investigates the molecular signaling pathways that underlie these and other vital mechanisms.
Myofiber
Press Release No. 14 Berlin

The key to proper muscle growth

Three oscillating proteins cause new muscle cells to emerge from muscle stem cells in a balanced manner. In a paper being published in the journal "Nature Communications", a team led by MDC researcher Carmen Birchmeier explains in detail how this process works.
Ausschnitt aus dem Bild einer Muskelfaser
Press Release No. 56 Berlin

Muscle cell secrets

A muscle fiber consists of just one cell, but many nuclei. A team at the MDC led by Professor Carmen Birchmeier has now shown just how varied these nuclei are. The study, which has been published in Nature Communications, can help us better understand muscle diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Skelettmuskulatur
Press Release No. 9 Berlin

Oscillation in muscle tissue

When a muscle grows or a muscle injury heals, some of the stem cells develop into new muscle cells. A research team at the MDC led by Carmen Birchmeier has now described in the journal “Genes and Development” how this process is regulated by two proteins produced in an oscillatory manner.
Spheroid
Science

“It’s important that we explain our research”

The MINT400 Forum in Berlin brings together teachers and schoolchildren from all over Germany. Two researchers from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) are offering workshops at the networking meeting – partly because one of them was once a teacher himself.
Green sponge-like network of mouse skeletal muscle
Science

Muscle research moves from the Petri dish to gene therapy

The conference “Muscle Development, Regeneration and Disease 2018” took place at the MDC in late April. This event has in recent years become an increasingly important international platform for muscle research.
Press Release No. 17 Berlin

Circular RNA linked to brain function

While hundreds of circular RNAs (circRNAs) are abundant in mammalian brains, one big question has...
Science By Jana Schlütter

“Mummy, I'm here!”

The calls of new-born mice draw the attention of their mother and enhance their chances of survival. A group of neuronal cells in the brain stem is essential for this innate process, reports a research team at the Max Delbrück Center in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Without these cells, the mice are mute.
Press Release No. 16 Berlin

How mice babies ensure mother’s protection

Almost immediately after birth, mouse pups that are separated from their mother are able to make...
Science By Russell Hodge

Oh what a birthday! Frontiers in developmental neuroscience

“Round birthdays” aren’t always a cause for personal celebration, but when taken as an opportunity...

Research Topics