The rapid progress in the area of developmental biology has opened up the field of stem cell biology, which offers immense possibilities for regenerative medicine as well as new single cell based biosensors. We are studying possible applications of human adult mesenchymal stem cells. These primitive multipotent progenitors are present in adult tissue such as bone marrow and exhibit stem cell characteristics: low incidence and a vast self renewal potential. Those properties in combination with their developmental plasticity have generated great interest in the potential use of mesenchymal stem cells to replace damaged tissues.
The main topic of our research activity is the development of cellular systems and monitoring tools for the characterisation of cell-material interactions. For this we study the behaviour, status, and health from the collective activity of thousands or millions of cells. A more precise understanding of minute differences between individual cells could lead to better treatments for diseases and a more predictable design for cell-based sensors as well as tissue engineering scaffolds.
Our studies focus on:
- cell types that are relevant (i.e. present near, and in direct contact with a bone implant or materials which are of interest for cell-based sensors) such as primary human bone marrow stromal cells, primary human osteoprogenitors
- defined conditions under which the interactions between cells and materials are investigated
- a wide variety of still- and live imaging techniques as well as molecular biological and protein chemical tools to investigate cellular behaviour (snap-shot and real-time imaging of cells)
- novel fluorescent protein-based reporter constructs which allow live monitoring of cellular response to materials
- analysis of cell to cell communication
- application to mesenchymal stem cell biology
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