Department of Biochemistry

Welcome to our visiting scientist: Professor Joost Van Meerwijk
Professor Joost Van Meerwijk from INSERM, Toulouse is undertaking a one year sabbatical at the Department of Biochemistry. He is working on a collaborative SNF funded project with Dr. Pascal Schneider investigating the processes of T cell-development and selection in the thymus and the development of autoimmune pathology.

CSL controls telomere homeostasis in human dermal fibroblasts
In the new paper published in Nature Communications, the group of Gian Paolo Dotto describes the central role of CSL in telomere homeostasis of dermal fibroblasts with important implications for genomic instability of cancer stromal cells

FGF and TGF-β signaling exert opposite roles in the control of cancer-associated...
In the new paper published in Cell Reports, the group of Gian Paolo Dotto describes the dual functions of FGF and TGF-β signaling in the modulation of heterogenous CAF populations promoting cancer development

Lymph node fibroblasts suppress chronic T cell responses via prostanoid release
Dr. Karin Schäuble from Prof. Sanjiv Luther’s lab published an article in PLoS Biology describing how lymph node fibroblasts ( FRC) which act as organizers of the T cell rich zone, constitutively express high levels of the COX2 enzyme responsible for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis. This PGE2 inhibits T cell expansion in contrast to its proinflammatory role on innate immune cells. In vivo, fibroblast-expressed COX2 is responsible for suppressing chronic T cell responses. COX inhibitors, such as Aspirin and Ibuprofen, belong to the most used drugs for dampening inflammatory reactions, in part by blocking PGE2 synthesis. These results represent the first direct in vivo evidence for a suppressive role of lymph node fibroblasts on the T cell response