Funding tool: Basic research projects
Project-ID: LS15-004
Project start: 01. Jänner 2017
Project end: will follow
Runtime: 36 months / finished
Funding amount: € 287.710,00

Brief summary:

From the early stage of disease on, repair processes counteract degeneration and inflammation in affected tissues and organs. These regenerative processes are mediated either by local self-repair of fully differentiated cells or by resident stem cells located in vascular stem cell niches in affected tissue and organs. Mesenchymal stem cells are the key players in organizing regeneration and dampening inflammation by their immune-regulatory capacity, thereby significantly contributing to the reconstitution of physiological conditions.
In this basic research project we will investigate the mechanisms how mesenchymal stem cells facilitate their immune-regulatory capacity. We will follow the hypothesis that mesenchymal stem cells can be used successfully in the clinic to modulate the inflammatory response that accompanies degenerative processes in tissue and organs. A prerequisite for a safe and successful used of mesenchymal stem cells in the clinical setting is to unravel the molecular, cellular and physical requirements for their action.
Here we will investigate the molecular, cellular and physical features of MSCs under different culture conditions, the influence of extracellular matrices composition on intracellular actin fibers, the interaction and binding capability of MSCs to the endothelium dependent on activation as well as different locomotion strategies MSCs use to migrate through physiological and artificial matrices.
Unraveling molecular, cellular and physical properties of MSC in the context of their immune-regulatory capacity is the prerequisite for a save and successful clinical use (in autoimmune diseases or in allogenic stem cell transplantation-associated graft versus host disease) and will determine whether MSCs withstand the pressure of hope and success.

Keywords:
Biotechnology