P09 - Therapeutic manipulation of the alveolar macrophage in lung fibrosis
Pathologic fibrosis, characterized by excessive formation of connective tissue matrix, is a maladaptive response to inflammation that occurs in the context of infection or tissue deterioration. The lack of an efficient antifibrotic treatment is a severe problem in the therapy of infectious lung diseases, drug- or radiation-based tumor therapy, or post-infarction therapy of the heart.
Macrophages are increasingly recognized as key regulators of fibrosis, and our lab has gained substantial insight into the pathways that promote their secretory signalling to fibroblasts. Our project P09 will investigate and manipulate the human alveolar macrophage to develop an antifibrotic therapy of the lung. Based on extensive transcriptome data from human patients, we will identify target genes/mRNAs and validate their role in fibrosis by our recently established mannose-coupled antisense oligonucleotide approach in vivo. From this point on, the project will adopt state-of-the-art CRISPR technology and virus-free delivery to develop it for macrophage-specific gene therapy against lung fibrosis.
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Stefan EngelhardtTechnical University of Munich (TUM) +49 89 4140 3260 |