Through regenerative medicine, the human body may one day be able to repair and restore severe tissue damage or even replace entire organs. Researchers are striving to develop therapeutics that can support healing processes. Thanks to their regenerative potential, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could provide the breakthrough.

Imagine that millions of tiny maintenance workers inside the human body move around to injury sites to create new bones,…

What do puzzles and immunity have in common? The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system of cell-surface proteins help to regulate the immune system. Yet particular antigens can make a crucial difference. Patients with certain HLA types are more likely to have autoimmune diseases, contract infectious disease or develop cancer. Now, through better understanding of HLA function,…

From bench to bedside and back: This is the direction of malignant mesothelioma research. Yet to understand the biology of this particular type of cancer, more basic insights are still needed. And translating that knowledge into new therapies is extremely important, as only limited therapeutic options exist so far.

Molecular needles that cross the lung epithelium: That’s how asbestos – often in form of dust – enters lung tissue (Carbone et al.,…

The genetic code is the blueprint of an organism written on a stable molecule class: deoxyribonucleic acid. With the method CRISPR/Cas9, editing the genetic information has become much easier. This technique is a blessing for basic scientists, as well as for translational researchers such as Dr. Kathleen Börner, who wants to develop a gene therapy for infections caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)….