Press and Public Relations
Press Officer and Head of Press and Public Relations (in ch.)
Dr. Sibylle Kohlstädt
Im Neuenheimer Feld 28069120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 6221 422854
Fax: +49 6221 422968
E-Mail: s.kohlstaedt@dkfz.de
or presse@dkfz.de
Recent Press Releases
Using barcodes to trace cell development
© Nicole Schuster/DKFZ
There are various concepts about how blood cells develop. However, they are based almost exclusively on experiments that solely reflect snapshots. In a publication in Nature, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg now present a novel technique that captures the process in a dynamic way. Using a "random generator", the researchers label hematopoietic stem cells with genetic barcodes that enable them to trace which cell types arise from the stem cell. This method will facilitate whole new insights into the development of various tissues as well as cancer.
Therapies for older leukemia patients
© The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Wikimedia Commons
The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) will provide funding for a new research group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and at the University of Freiburg and Freiburg University Medical Center. The scientists will jointly pursue fundamental and clinical research into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The DFG will support the project with funds of approximately €4.2 million over the next three years.
Cancer cells put the brakes on immune system
Macrophage after treatment with green colored exosomes (blue nucleus, red: ...
© DKFZ
In order for cancer cells to successfully spread and multiply, they must find a way to avoid the body's own immune system. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have published an explanation for how this occurs with chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL). The degenerated cells cause an inflammatory reaction and influence other blood cells with it so much, that the immune system is suppressed. They send out messages via exosomes, little bubbles, which the cells transmit to their surroundings. The discovery by the DKFZ scientists paves the way for new therapy approaches.
