PALs Meeting Hünfeld 2017 Agenda

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Liver Systems Medicine : striving to develop non-invasive methods for diagnosing and treating NAFLD by combining mathematical modeling and biological research. LiSyM, is a multidisciplinary research network, in which molecular and cell biologists, clinical researchers, pharmacologists and experts in mathematical modeling examine the liver in its entirety. LiSyM research focuses on the metabolic liver disease non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which includes non-alcoholic steatohepatitis ...

Disorders of the liver show up through changes in blood tests. These blood tests indicate markers for events taking place in the liver. Usually studies of liver tissue cannot be performed: as liver samples would need to be obtained through a liver biopsy, and this procedure is not without risk, therefore these samples are usually unavailable. Complex metabolism models based on existing and new scientific data can simulate changes in the liver caused by disease. They often reveal unknown relationships ...

One of the tasks of the healthy liver is to store fat. Yet, at some stage, too much fat makes the liver sick. One critical time point occurs when a healthy fatty liver becomes inflamed and progresses to steatohepatitis, or NASH. LiSyM-Pillar I will identify what events lead to this transition. Does it occur in all parts of the liver? Which molecules indicate that it is taking place? Can the degeneration be stopped or undone - and if so, how?

In one in five people with NAFLD, the functioning liver cells, the hepatocytes, are replaced by connective tissue. Eventually this fibrosis becomes irreversible. In this state the liver is like a ‘scar that never heals’. Through it, the liver loses many of its vital functions. LiSyM-Pillar II wants to know more about which factors promote fibrosis and the conditions under which fibrosis becomes irreversible How can fibrosis be diagnosed as early as possible? Researchers in the pillar are also ...

In chronic diseases, at some point the liver can suddenly stop functioning. This is called acute-on-chronic liver failure, or ACLF. This is the leading cause of death in liver patients and is often provoked by the use of transcription or freely available drugs or alcohol abuse. For this condition we need an effective treatment quickly. LiSyM-Pillar III researches the factors that contribute significantly to ACLF. What exactly happens then? Are there any early signs that would enable ACLF to be ...

Dr. Nachiket Vartak (TU University, Dortmund) investigates the role of a particular protein - the GTPase Rab18 - in initiating NAFLD. He tries to influence Rab18 pharmacologically so that NAFLD is not initiated. Vartak also analyzes how bile acids leave the liver. He hopes to find ways to improve the flow of bile in a liver with dysfunctional bile flow.

This event is a jointly organized Data Management PALs Meeting that involves PALs from the German LiSyM (Liver Systems Medicine) network and from the ERASysAPP (ERA-Net for Systems Biology Applications) initiative. PALs (Project Area Liaisons) are the front line experts of the data management teams of these projects. They act as data management advocates and help gathering user requirements and testing potential data management solutions. An important part of the meeting will be to gather the ...