Hübner Lab

After providing funding for single-cell analysis of adult hearts, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is now supporting the creation of a cell atlas of children’s hearts. An international team led by Christine Seidman of Harvard University and Norbert Hübner of the MDC is again among the funded networks.

MDC researchers have discovered a previously unknown cause of cardiac hypertrophy. As they report in the journal “Genome Biology”, genetic variation results in heart cell ribosomes not working properly. This disrupts protein production, which in turn causes the heart to grow too large.

An international research team recently created the first atlas of the human heart. Now the scientists want to add a new dimension to the project: diversity. They are being supported by an additional Seed Networks grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Researchers from three continents have produced a first extensive draft of a cell atlas of the human heart to understand how this vital organ functions and to shed light on what goes wrong in cardiovascular disease. As the team reports in Nature, it reveals a huge cellular and molecular diversity.

Two specific cell types in the nose have been identified as likely initial infection points for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Using data from the Human Cell Atlas, scientists discovered that goblet and ciliated cells in the nose have high levels of the entry proteins that SARS-CoV-2 uses to get into our cells.

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...