Disease modeling
Standardized cell-based and in vivo disease models that recapitulate human heart disease are critical for quality control, reproducibility, and thus the development of novel targeted therapies. Here, we provide and expand defined established human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based in vitro models and standardized murine in vivo models to enable consistent experimental approaches and data […]
Integrated Research Training Group for CardioScience
The IRTG of Cardioscience offers an ambitious study program dedicated to the state-of-the-art experimental approaches that are essential in the CRC 1550 combining mentoring and supervision of our Early Career Investigators (ECIs). The program combines thesis advisory committees, annual winter schools, practical hand-on courses, lecture series “Molecular Cardiology Class”, a Journal club “Molecular circuits in […]
Infrastructure for Biobanking, Data Management and Bioinformatics
The INF project integrates the existing infrastructures CardioBiobank, CardioCloud and Bioinformatics and defines three AIMS: (I) Building the interfaces for an integrated functional structure between CardioCloud, CardioBiobank and Bioinformatics. (II) To provide specific end-to-end workflows from sample preparation to data storage and analysis. (III) Dissemination of biosamples, data and bioinformatics results. INF serves as central […]
Deciphering molecular circuits of cardiac remodeling and dysfunction via an integrative reverse approach
Project B10 is a canonical data integration project aiming to identify key molecular circuits for cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. B10 will develop and apply novel and state of the art computational methods to integrate bulk and single-cell OMICs data from several dedicated mouse models as well as public data from patients. From these analyses we […]
Unraveling molecular circuits leading to catecholamine driven ventricular arrhythmias
We identified OCaR2 as a regulator of lysosomal two-pore channels, and its deletion resulted in Ca2+ oscillations in cardiomyocytes causing fatal catecholaminergic arrhythmias. We combine Ca2+ imaging, ECG telemetry, transcriptome and metabolome approaches with computational methods to elucidate pathways and patterns of gene regulation. By comparative analysis of circuits in arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy models, we aim […]
Role of ETV transcription factors in atrial cardiomyopathy
Atrial cardiomyopathy is a complex and heterogenous disease and efficient therapies are lacking. ETV transcription factors driven gene regulation was shown for various genes as KCNK3 that are involved in atrial remodeling processes. We will dissect how ETV1-7 transcription factors are involved in the regulation of the atrial KCNK3 potassium ion channel as well as […]
Control of cardiac homeostasis and cardiocrine signaling by protein arginine methyltransferases
Protein arginine methyltransferases are strongly down-regulated in failing human hearts. Our preliminary work unmasked that PRMT5 and PRMT7 exert strong cardiomyocyte-intrinsic effects on splicing and histone methylation along with essential functions for mitochondrial function, cardiac contractility and microenvironmental integrity. Together with other CRC 1550 projects, B07 will undertake an integrative approach to decode Prmt5-/Prmt7-dependent cardiomyocyte-intrinsic […]
Cardiocrine signaling as a regulator of cardiac homeostasis and fibrosis
Cardiomyocytes communicate with their surrounding cells through mechanical and chemical interactions. A novel mass spectrometry based approach enabled us to characterize the secretome of primary cardiomyocytes. For this proposal, we will investigate down-stream paracrine and autocrine effects of the identified, most strongly regulated signal proteins under hypoxia. In addition, we will determine their up-stream regulation […]