Inhaltspezifische Aktionen

AG Heart regeneration (Reischauer)

 

Research Focus

Unlocking heart regeneration: Exploring the role of cardiac stromal cells and the genetic blueprint of healing in the injured heart.

Fibrotic scar formation is a key aspect of the wound repair process in most mammalian tissues, including the heart. In contrast, species that exhibit complete epimorphic regeneration, such as zebrafish, do not develop permanent scars. This contrast between scarring and regeneration implies that the creation of a fibrotic environment restricts tissue regeneration in mammals. Interestingly, despite this difference, heart regeneration in zebrafish also involves an expansion of cardiac stromal cells and considerable extracellular matrix deposition, suggesting that the difference is qualitative rather than quantitative. Notably, we have found that removing interleukin (IL)-11 receptor function during regeneration results in an inverted injury response akin what can be observed in mammals, showing that a regeneration-supporting cell state is induced over the default mammalian scarring response.

Modelling cardiac diseases in zebrafish to decipher mechanisms of cardiomyopathy

Cardiac diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, affecting millions of people each year. Despite advances in medicine, the underlying causes of many heart conditions, including hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) or patterning defects, remain poorly understood, with a significant proportion of cases having unknown or complex aetiologies. This gap in knowledge makes it crucial to deepen research into the mechanisms driving heart disease. Studies using model organisms have proven invaluable for uncovering key genetic, molecular, and cellular pathways involved in cardiac function and repair, offering insights that could pave the way for novel therapeutic approaches.

Contact

Dr. rer. nat. Sven Reischauer

Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiology

Aulweg 129 / 4. OG

35392 Gießen

+49 (0)641 99 42218

sven.reischauer

Team

 

Publications

    1. Ruijmbeek C.W.B., Ricciardi F., Housley M.P., Pestel J., Lai J., van der Linde H.C., Piesker J., Al-Hassnan Z.N., Dalinghaus M., van Slegtenhorst M., Stainier D.Y.R, van Ham T.J., Verhagen M.J., Reischauer S*. Bi-allelic variants in flightless-1 (FLII), encoding an actin-binding protein, cause pediatric cardiomyopathy by disrupting cardiomyocyte cell adhesion (JCI insights 2022)

    2. Kenny Mattonet K., Riemslagh F.W., Guenther S., Prummel K.D., Kesavan G., Hans S., Ebersberger I., Brand M., Burger A., Reischauer S., Mosimann C., Stainier D.Y.R. Endothelial versus pronephron fate decision is modulated by the transcription factors Cloche/Npas4l, Tal1, and Lmo2 (2022 in 2nd revision Science Advances)

    3. Saraswathy VM, Zhou L, Burris B, Dogra D, Reischauer S, Mokalled MH. Myostatin is a negative regulator of adult neurogenesis in zebrafish (2021) in revision Developmental Cell doi:10.1101/2021.08.18.456778.

    4. Allanki S, Keller L, Mattonet K, Stainier D.Y., Reischauer S*. Interleukin-11 signaling promotes cellular reprogramming and limits fibrotic scarring during cardiac tissue regeneration. Science Advances (2021)

    5. Liu K., Villasenor A., Schmitner N., Radros N., Rautio L., Reischauer S., Stainier D.Y., Andersson O. Insulin-producing β-cells regenerate ectopically from a mesodermal origin under the perturbation of hemato-endothelial specification. eLife (2021)

    6. Barz C., Garderes P.M., Ganea D., Reischauer S., Feldmeyer D., Haiss F. Functional and structural properties of highly responsive somatosensory neurons in mouse barrel cortex. Cerebral Cortex (2021)

    7. Marass M., Beisaw A., Gerri C., Luzzani F., Fukuda N., Günther S., Kuenne C., Reischauer S., Stainier DY. Genome-wide strategies reveal downstream target genes of Npas4l associated with cardiovascular development in zebrafish. Dev. Camb. Engl. (2019)

    8. Boskovic S., Marín-Juez R., Jasnic J., Reischauer S., El Sammak H., Kojic A., Faulkner G., Radojkovic D., Stainier DY., Kojic S. Characterization of zebrafish (Danio rerio) muscle ankyrin repeat proteins reveals their conserved response to endurance exercise. PloS One (2018)

    9. Uribe V., Ramadass R., Dogra D., Rasouli SJ., Gunawan, F., Nakajama H., Chiba A., Reischauer S., Mochizuki N., Stainier D.Y. In vivo analysis of cardiomyocyte proliferation during ventricular trabeculation. Development (2018)

    10. Guerra, A., Germano, R., Stone, OA., Stainier D.Y., Reischauer, S*. Distinct myocardial lineages break atrial symmetry during cardiogenesis. eLife (2018)