Institute of Stem Cell Research
The stem cell institute aims to elucidate key regulators of cell fate and cell proliferation in different organ systems.
Stem cells from different tissues share the feature that they are multipotent and able to generate all differentiated cell types of a given organ. The second key feature is the slow cell division of stem cells accompanying their self-renewal.
The stem cell institute combines research on stem cells from all three germ layers ectoderm (neural stem cells), mesoderm (hematopoietic stem cells) and endoderm (pancreas, liver stem cells), to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for these key features shared by all stem cells. A further aim is to identify the key pathways that regulate differentiation of specific cell types from stem cells – the final goal for any reconstitutive therapeutic approach. The interdisciplinary approach is characterized not only by the analysis of different organ systems, but also by a braoad range of cell biological and molecular techniques.
Groups:
- Neural stem cells
- Hematopoiesis
- Analysis of endoderm development in the mouse
Recent news
- Paper in Nature Neuroscience 9 (2006) September 2006 - Vol 9 No 9 read more