Projects

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 ...

This comprises the whole LiSyM network

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.

Dr. Madlen Matz-Soja (University of Leipzig) investigates the importance of a control mechanism - the hedgehog signaling pathway - for fatty liver disease. She has shown that the signaling pathway directs how liver cells in NAFLD accumulate fat. Hedgehog also affects sex hormones in the liver. Therefore, Matz-Soya hopes to clarify why women and men suffer from cirrhosis and liver cancer with varying degrees of frequency.

Major infrastructure backbone of the whole LiSyM network. It comprises the core management tasks of the program directorate and the scientific project management, as well as the central data management. The data management concept relies on FAIRDOM (http://fair-dom.org) and uses the LiSyM SEEK platform as a major hub for exchanging data, models, SOPs and other information, as well as yellow pages for the projects with its corresponding members, institutions, events, presentations and publications. ...

Dr. Ahmed Ghallab (TU University, Dortmund) deals with chronic liver damage caused by toxins. In addition, he investigates processes associated with cholestasis - when bile accumulates in the bile ducts. Ghallab has been able to explain basic mechanisms of acute cholestasis, using a method for intravital two-photon microscopy, which he developed.

This generic project is intended to be a forum for all LiSyM partner and external stakeholders interested in participating in the BMBF initiative LiSyM-Krebs.

Day-to-day science within the LiSyM is overseen and directed by the the LiSyM Scientific Leadership Team. This coordination team comprises the pillar coordinators and additional LiSyM members, and ensures smooth interaction between multi-skilled groups, often working in different institutions and across significant distances within Germany.

Dr. Matthias König (Humboldt University, Berlin) models the human liver on the computer. His simulations show the extent of individual differences in liver function and the external factors influencing it. König has shown that smoking falsifies the result of an important liver test (LiMAx). With his models, drug doses can be calculated so that they can be administered in doses that do not harm the liver.