Single-cell analysis

In “Nature Communications,” Max Delbrück Center researchers show how immune cells initiate zebrafish heart regeneration, highlighting the possibility that precisely timed inflammatory signaling of specific immune cells — rather than broad suppression — could inform new approaches to cardiac repair.

Joint press release by the Max Delbrück Center and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research One...

In aggressive lymphomas, inflammatory messengers reprogram the “conductors” of the immune system, causing lymph node structure to collapse. A team led by Simon Haas describes in “Nature Cancer” this process for the first time using single-cell and spatial analyses.

At the Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception, researchers from twelve Berlin institutions will be pooling their expertise to explore new approaches to prevention, long before symptoms appear, and bring them quickly into practice. The center opens today with a ceremony.

Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin show that adipose tissue amplifies gut inflammation in Crohn’s disease. The study, published in the “Journal of Clinical Investigation,” also reveals how genetic changes in immune cells may contribute to the disease.

Checkpoint inhibitors help fight cancer but increase the risk of heart disease. An interdisciplinary team, including researchers from the Max Delbrück Center, is investigating how the therapy can be made safer. The Hector Foundation is supporting the project with €1.3 million.

Leif Si-Hun Ludwig has been awarded a prestigious Heisenberg professorship in stem cell dynamics and mitochondrial genomics by the the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, a position funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, remains difficult to treat despite modern CAR T cell therapies. In “Molecular Therapy,” a team led by Armin Rehm presents an improved immunotherapy that recognizes two distinct features of malignant cells to destroy the cancer more effectively.

The Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception has been funded with six million euros. In an interview, Nikolaus Rajewsky and Leif Erik Sander, both spokespeople of the center, explain why new technologies and cross-institutional collaboration will make disease prevention in the future possible.

Berlin Science Week 2025 kicks off on November 1. The Max Delbrück Center invites science enthusiasts to talks and tours, a concert, and exhibitions highlighting our research and to join discussions on a wide range of topics.