A systems medicine network

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Consortia

Beta cells under fire

Type 2 diabetes causes pathological changes in the beta cells. Scientists have successfully depicted the processes on the basis of the metabolome and proteome for the first time. Their work has been published in Cell Metabolism. read more

Junior research alliances and consortia

The importance of being genotyped

Small cell lung cancer is an aggressive type of cancer and can progress in very different, individual ways but so far no targeted therapy has been approved. By designing a mouse model mimicking a human disease phenotype, scientists of the e:Med alliances MILES & SMOOSE discovered a promising combination therapy. Highlight from the e:Medium

Junior research alliances

New route to a diagnosis

In about half of all patients with rare hereditary disorders, it is still unclear what exact position of the genome is responsible for their condition - despite whole genome sequencing analysis. One reason for this is the enormous quantity of information encoded in human genes. Scientists from the fields of informatics and medicine have now joined forces to find a solution: A team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Helmholtz Zentrum München has developed a method that significantly increases the chances of a successful search. The new approach looks not only at DNA, but also at RNA. The e:Med junior research alliance mitOmics contributed substantially to this study. read more

Demonstrators and Junior research alliances

Metabolic fine tuning

Amino acids as signaling molecules: Interaction uncovered
Amino acids are important signaling molecules which influence cellular and organismal metabolism, however, their molecular targets are not yet completely identified.
A systems study has now shed light into the molecular interaction network and the diverse cellular functions of amino acids. Highlight from the e:Med Newsletter

Consortia

Tracking down allergies

Decoding T cell regulation in allergies: What works differently in the immune system of allergic persons? Which immune cells can be held responsible for immune system overreaction? Scientists from Berlin, together with the e:Med consortia e:Kid around Professor Nina Babel, have now shed light on these questions and have decoded the role of the different T cells in allergies. Highlight from the e:Med Newsletter

Consortia

Calculating Cancer

Mathematical models to predict and fight cancer: How can mathematical models be used in order to improve cancer prognosis and therapy? In the studies presented here, e:Med scientists from SYSIMIT generated models to improve prediction of breast cancer development and for a personalized treatment of bacterial infection against cancer. Highlight from the e:Med Newsletter

Consortia

Social phobia: further indications of a genetic cause

What are the causes of social phobia? This question was raised by scientists of the consortium IntegraMent. For this they examined mutations found in patients with social phobia. They discovered that a SNP in the serotonin transporter gene SLC6A4 is associated with the disease. Serotonin is an important substance in the brain, which also suppresses feelings of anxiety and is a common target of psychotropic drugs. The results emphasize that serotonin transporter play an important role in developing social phobia. read more

Junior Research Alliance

Mapping regulatory DNA regions

Tools for improved analysis of gene regulation: Regulatory DNA regions are important elements for gene activity control. However, these areas are very difficult to identify since the RNA produced is rapidly degraded. e:Med scientist Julien Gagneur from the junior research alliance mitOmics and colleagues published an innovative sequencing method in Science, which makes it possible to collect and map all RNA segments transcribed within 5 minutes. In addition, they created software for improved annotation of regulatory elements, which they applied to 127 human cell types and tissues.The two tools enable detailed mapping of the human transient transcriptome and of active regulatory elements providing us with important information about gene regulation and thus insight into the molecular origin of diseases. read more

Consortia

m 4 Award for e:Med scientist

Among the winners of m4 Award is the project „KNOWING - Turning Big Data into Personalized Therapies” of e:Med scientist  Prof. Dr. Dr. Fabian Theis  and collegues. The team is working on software that links automatically different data  and thereby identifies novel biomarkers and drug targets for personalized therapies. KNOWING will be funded with a sum of 500,000 Euros over the next two years. read more

e:Med project groups - overlapping issues in focus

Scientists discuss new technologies and latest scientific contents and launch comprehensive initiatives in four e:Med project groups (PG) regarding substantially and methodologically overlapping systems medicine issues. The objective of the PG is to promote interactions between members and handle relevant issues across the research group. read more