KFO LTx authorization

Clinical Research Unit "Lung Transplantation" approved by the DFG

Excerpt from the MHH press release:

Another cash windfall for research at Hannover Medical School (MHH): the German Research Foundation (DFG) has selected two MHH projects from a total of 25 proposals from German university hospitals to support the university with a total of 1.6 million euros over the next two years. Almost one million euros have been earmarked for a third year. The clinical research groups are working on liver cell cancer and lung transplantation.

The DFG defines the task of these teams as follows: they are to intensify the networking of basic research and clinical application, support young scientists and strengthen the university's profile. "The MHH is thus establishing a new focus on lung transplantation.

Clinical Research Group Lung Transplantation (Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Axel Haverich, Head: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Martin, Department of Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery at the MHH)

Funding: €753,450 in the first two years with the prospect of €389,725 in the third year

Topics:

If the respiratory organ fails permanently, for example due to a chronic infection, a lung transplant is the only treatment option. As only a tenth of all donated organs are suitable for such an operation, 30% of potential recipients still die on the waiting list. And despite major advances in surgical technology, survival times after a lung transplant are still significantly shorter than for other organs.

It is therefore particularly important not only to increase the willingness to donate and to optimize the "preservation" of organ function during transport, but also to gain a better understanding of chronic organ rejection - above all, physicians want to understand exactly which reactions to the foreign organ cause the rejection and under what conditions the immune system learns to tolerate the "foreign body". In addition, new therapeutic approaches could be useful - such as the use of stem cells in the diseased lung or the cultivation of implants for gas exchange from the patient's own cells.

The clinical research group on lung transplantation is planning the following individual projects:

  • How can the function of a removed donor lung be better maintained? Can the organ be successfully transplanted even if it was removed from the donor after heart failure? Investigation in an animal model
  • What role do white blood cells that migrate into the donor lung play in chronic rejection?
  • Which genes and proteins play a role in a specific rejection reaction (bronchiolitis obliterans)?
  • How can donor-specific tolerance be achieved in lung transplantation?
  • Can embryonic stem cells be transformed into lung cells (pneumocytes)?
  • Is it possible to grow a trachea?