Fässler

Peter Krenn from the Department Molecular Medicine (Director Reinhard Fässler) at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry has found a new way to attack leukemic stem cells. more

Tissue are composed of cells and their surrounding extracellular matrix. During embryonic development, wound healing and cancer metastasis, cells move within tissues. How they do it, is a highly relevant scientific and medical question. Now, researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried found a new molecule that regulates the speed of cell migration. Kank2, the newly discovered protein, diminishes the force transmission between cells and extracellular matrix. Thereby the cells find less grip on the ground and move slower. more

White blood cells (leukocytes) are constantly streaming through our vasculature, searching for pathogens – however, in order to trigger an immune response they need to leave the vessels and migrate into the infected tissue. In patients suffering from the hereditary disease LAD III (leukocyte adhesion deficiency) this passage is blocked. The cause of this defect has now been elucidated by collaborations between the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute and the LMU Munich: The protein kindlin-3 is essential to arrest leukocytes on vessel walls of inflamed tissues – if it is lacking, transmigration of leukocytes into tissue is impossible (Nature Medicine advanced online publications, 22 February 2009). more