Animal Research

A team of scientists led by Martin Janz and Klaus Rajewsky at the Max Delbrück Center has successfully generated genetically defined mouse models for two subtypes of multiple myeloma. These models will contribute to a better understanding of how the disease develops in humans. The team has now published their findings in the journal PNAS.

Michael Bader has received over half a million euros from the LEO Foundation. The funding will help him develop a therapy for vitiligo and other inflammatory skin conditions. He hopes the answer lies in an ointment that inhibits ACE2, an enzyme that gained global attention during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hypertension can damage the heart, brain, and blood vessels. The immune system plays an important role in this process, Suphansa Sawamiphak from the Max Delbrück Center reports in Cardiovascular Research. The study, using zebrafish, found that inflammation causes macrophages to damage blood vessels instead of protecting them.

Researchers from the Max Delbrück Center have found a region of the brain that is responsible for our perception of temperature when we touch things. The paper, which appears in “Nature”, reports the discovery of a ‘thermal cortex’ located in a posterior region of the insular cortex.

The signaling molecules of the immune system should trigger a response only where necessary. To prevent a life-threatening spread to the rest of the body, connective tissue can absorb these molecules like a sponge. A team led by Thomas Blankenstein presents this mechanism in “Nature Immunology.

A group of international researchers – among them Stephan Mathas from the ECRC – has found that changing a single segment of the genome causes a previously unknown immunodeficiency in humans. The paper, which appears in Science Immunology, reports the discovery of a point mutation in the transcription factor IRF4.

To perform coordinated movements, we rely on special sensory neurons in our muscles and joints. Without them, the brain wouldn’t know what the rest of our body was doing. A team led by Niccolò Zampieri has studied their molecular markers to better understand how they work and describes the results in “Nature Communications”.

An expert panel met at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities to discuss circumstances in which animal research is ethically justified. The Einstein Center 3R hosted the event.

And a celebration it was: After two years of virtual graduation ceremonies due to Covid-19, doctoral students at the Max Delbrück Center were once again able to receive their graduation certificates live on stage.

A new therapeutic agent may offer hope to young people suffering from a severe form of muscle cancer. As a research team led by Anton Henssen reports in “Nature Communications”, this agent prevents the repair of DNA damage in cancer cells, ultimately causing their death.