Organ fibrosis is a pathological condition characterized by the abnormal increase of connective tissue and excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components, particularly collagen, in the affected organ such as the heart, lungs, liver or kidneys. The study of cardiac and lung fibrosis, in particular, is a major research focus at our institute.

Cardiac fibrosis is a key driver of heart failure, which is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tissue injury triggers the activation of cardiac fibroblasts, which are responsible for the production and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. Lung fibrosis results in insufficient oxygen uptake and is often leading to death.

Currently, there are limited therapeutic options to treat fibrotic diseases, highlighting the urgent need for innovative therapies. To address this challenge, our research investigates fibrotic processes in the heart and lung using various model systems. We screen for potential therapeutic candidates involved in these processes by utilizing human cardiac cell types, living human myocardial and lung slices, patient-derived material, and diverse in vivo disease models. Our research was and is supported by prestigious funding bodies such as the European Research Council (ERC) through projects like LONGHEART, REVERSE and MEGFIB, as well as the European Innovation Council (EIC) under the FIBREX project.

At the IMTTS, we are dedicated to advancing our understanding of cardiac fibrosis and developing novel therapeutic strategies to combat cardiopulmonary and related diseases.

Key references:

Piccoli, MT, Gupta, SK, Viereck, J, Foinquinos, A, Samolovac, S., Kramer, FL., Garg, A., Remke, J., Zimmer, K., Batkai, S., Thum, T. (2017) Inhibition of the Cardiac Fibroblast-Enriched lncRNA Meg3 Prevents Cardiac Fibrosis and Diastolic Dysfunction. Circulation Research, 121(5), 575-583. doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.310624

Viereck J, Kumarswamy R, Foinquinos A, Xiao K, Avramopoulos P, Kunz M, Dittrich M, Maetzig T, Zimmer K, Remke J, Just A, Fendrich J, Scherf K, Bolesani E, Schambach A, Weidemann F, Zweigerdt R, de Windt LJ, Engelhardt S, Dandekar T, Batkai S, Thum T. (2016) Long noncoding RNA Chast promotes cardiac remodeling. Science Translation Medicine, 8(326):326ra22.  https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf1475

Foinquinos A, Batkai S, Genschel C, Viereck J, Rump S, Gyöngyösi M, Traxler D, Riesenhuber M, Spannbauer A, Lukovic D, Weber N, Zlabinger K, Hašimbegović E, Winkler J, Fiedler J, Dangwal S, Fischer M, de la Roche J, Wojciechowski D, Kraft T, Garamvölgyi R, Neitzel S, Chatterjee S, Yin X, Bär C, Mayr M, Xiao K, Thum T. (2020) Preclinical development of a miR-132 inhibitor for heart failure treatment. Nature Communication, 11(1):633. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-14349-2