Hübner Lab

An international team of researchers are seeking to explore the heart at a depth that was previously impossible. They have now received a grant of nearly four million US dollars from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – as one of the 38 Seed Networks working on the Human Cell Atlas. MDC researcher Norbert Hübner is co-coordinator of the project.

A team led by Professor Norbert Hübner’s MDC research group has observed the human heart cells’ “protein factories” in action, examining the entire tissue for the very first time. In an article published in Cell, the group reveals their surprising discoveries and the possibilities they contain for the future treatment of heart disease.

A heart seems to be pure physics: valves open and close, blood flows, electrical impulses control the heartbeat. A German-British research team is now looking at it in a different way. It will break down the heart into its smallest components - the cells - and unlock their secrets. The project is now being funded with 2.5 million euros for three years.

Acute ischemia (lack of blood flow) and sustained high blood pressure have grave consequences for...

One of the causes of heart failure is the formation of excess connective tissue. An international team of researchers has discovered a specific treatment approach involving the signaling molecule interleukin 11. Their findings have now been published in the journal Nature.

Organs and tissues are comprised of very different types of cells. The heart, for example, contains...

In the largest transcriptome study to date, an international research team analysed the RNA of transplanted hearts and discovered a number of new risk factors for dilated cardiomyopathy and other heart conditions which could thus be recognised more easily in future.

The MDC research group led by Norbert Hübner has discovered that mutations in the titin gene have previously unknown effects on the heart function of healthy individuals. These mutations are present in one percent of the general population.