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Institute of Farm Animal Genetics successfully represented in DFG Transregio Collaborative Research Center

Foto: DFG-Logo

At the end of May, the German Research Foundation (DFG) approved the establishment of a Transregio Collaborative Research Center (TR-SFB) on the subject „Biology of xenogenic cells and organ transplants: from the laboratory to the clinic“. The application was submitted jointly by the leading German organ transplant centres. In a total of 18 sub-projects, scientists of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, the Technical University Munich, the Hannover Medical University, the Technical University Dresden, the Robert Koch-Institute, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institute, and the Institute of Farm Animal Genetics (ING) of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut in Mariensee will attempt to develop xenotransplantation of organs and tissues from pigs all the way through clinical application. The ING plays an important role in this project, as it is responsible for the production and characterization of new multi-transgenic pigs. The head of the institute, Prof. Heiner Niemann, acts as deputy speaker of the TR-SFB and will lead the projects carried out in Mariensee. Initially, financial support has been granted for 4 years with an option to two further 4-year-periods.

The above TR-SFB is the result of a fruitful 8-year-cooperation between the workgroups from Munich and Hannover/Mariensee in the DFG-supported research group „Xenotransplantation“. For the new large project, groups from the Technical University Dresden have joined the consortium. Dresden’s main contribution to the research work will be its expertise in islet cell transplantation. Speaker of this research consortium is the renowned heart surgeon Prof. Bruno Reichart from the LMU Munich.

Photo: Surgery in pigs
Surgery in pigs © Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut

The background for the scientific activities is the increasing shortage of suitable donor organs which is a considerable obstacle to the further development of clinical organ transplantation. Statistically, each day three patients on the so-called waiting list for a donor organ die. The supply of suitable porcine transplants, such as hearts, kidneys or islet cells is a possibility to reduce or even remedy this shortage. Basic scientists and clinicians closely cooperate in this consortium to lay the foundations for clinical use in patients as soon as possible. This also includes the development of new types of therapies to suppress the immune system of transplant patients.

The approval is the result of almost two years of preparatory work which ended with the project assessment by a panel of leading international scientists at the end of March of this year. The production and characterization of new multi-transgenic pigs at the ING will be supported with approximately 800,000 Euros over 4 years which will spur the research work considerably. This success in cutting-edge research supported by the DFG underlines the leading role of the FLI in German and international transplant research.