News & Events

Invited speakers: Sara Brown, University of Edinburgh; Liv Eidsmo, Karolinska Institute; Kilian Eyerich, University of Freiburg; Lars French, LMU Munich.

Here we report that Hira and Cdk8 mutations induce rapid loss of one X chromosome in a Mus musculus castaneus hybrid female ESC line that originally maintains two X chromosomes. Our analysis shows that X chromosome loss is not explained by selection of XO cells, but likely driven by a process of chromosome elimination.

Ferrarese/Koch show that loss of FGFR2 in human keratinocytes promotes the expression of pro-inflammatory genes and that expression of FGFR2 itself is downregulated in keratinocytes exposed to pro-inflammatory stimuli, similarly to lesional skin of atopic dermatitis patients.

Karasu et al. discovered that TREX1, an exonuclease, suppresses CRISPR-Cas9-mediated HDR. Modifying DNA repair templates or reducing TREX1 expression before CRISPR genome editing significantly increases HDR efficiencies.

The orgaizing committee of the IMHS Seminar Series "The New Generation Scientists Invite" is pleased to invite you to the  Seminar held by Prof. Johannes Zuber, IMP, Vienna. The Seminar will take place on Monday, 15.07.2024, at 11:00, in the seminar room HPM H33.

Karasu et al. identify CCAR1 as a DNA repair gene via a genome-wide CRISPR. CCAR1 ensures FANCA mRNA splicing by suppressing a poison exon inclusion via U2-type spliceosome in human cells.

Seltmann et al. discovered that the transmembrane protein CLCA2 is transported to the nucleus of keratinocytes via extracellular vesicles (EVs). Nuclear CLCA2 promotes expression of Wnt target genes and is required for the suppression of keratinocyte migration and for survival of these cells under hyperosmotic stress conditions.

Hiebert et al. used a collagen peptide sensor to visualize lysyl oxidase-dependent collagen formation and remodeling during wound healing. The probe selectively detects newly produced or remodeling collagen, but not matured collagen fibers, and can be applied for in vivo wound imaging and for discerning differential remodeling in mice with altered collagen dynamics.  

The orgaizing committee of the IMHS Seminar Series "The New Generation Scientists Invite" is pleased to invite you to the first Seminar held by Dr. Jürgen Knoblich, who pioneered organoid research and is the current director of the IMBA in Vienna. The Seminar will take place on Tuesday, 27.02.2024, at 10:30, in the seminar room HPM H33.

Cords and colleagues report a spatial resolved single-cell imaging mass cytometry analysis of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cohort of 1’070 patients. Their data identify phenotypic and spatial features of CAFs that are associates with patient outcome in NSCLC.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Payer, Centre of Genomic Regulation (CRB), Barcelona, Spain. Host: Prof. Anton Wutz.

The ETH student association VSETH has recently awarded Prof. Helmuth Gehart with the Golden Owl for best teaching in the Department of Biology, ETH ZUrich, in 2023.

Authors identify TRIM21 as a negative regulator of liver steatosis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and provides mechanistic insights into an immunometabolic crosstalk that limits fatty acid synthesis and fructose metabolism during metabolic stress. Thus, providing new insights for therapeutic opportunity to treat NASH.

Awarded to scientists who have made important scientific contributions in the area of Endocrinology. 08.11.2023

Dr. Eishi Aizawa, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan. Host: Prof. Anton Wutz.

Gurri et al. found that the NRF3 protein is downregulated or even absent in invasively growing cancer cells of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) patients. NRF3-deficient cancer cells showed enhanced malignancy due to the upregulation of the unfolded protein response regulator HSPA5, which was found as potential NRF3 interactor. Pharmacological inhibition or knock-down of HSPA5 rescued the malignant features of NRF3-deficient cells, suggesting HSPA5 as promising target for the treatment of NMSC.

The swiss cancer league have awarded Prof. Nicola Aceto with the Robert-Wenner Prize, an award for young cancer researchers, for his research on cancer metastasis.

Prof. Judi Allen, University of Manchester, UK. Hosts: Prof. Manfred Kopf and Prof. Sabine Werner.

Sänger et al. found that hyperosmotic stress induces expression of serine protease 35 (PRSS35) in skin fibroblasts, affecting the extracellular matrix proteome and limiting cell proliferation. The in vivo relevance of these findings is reflected by the co-expression of PRSS35 and its binding partners in human skin wounds. The results identify PRSS35 as a key regulator of the matrisome under hyperosmotic stress conditions.