How bones heal
Marietta Herrmann investigates the role of mesenchymal stromal cells in the regeneration phase
Bone has a high capacity for regeneration. Healing is usually initiated by an early inflammatory phase. Its initiation and timely resolution are critical for a successful outcome. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) could be used to guide the response of the immune system. However, little is known about their role, regulation, and interaction with other immune cell populations in the early phase of bone healing.
Marietta Herrmann from the University of Würzburg is working to change this. In cooperation with Dominic Grün, also from the University of Würzburg, she is investigating the behavior of immunomodulatory MSC populations at the Single-Cell Center Würzburg. These data will form the basis for further studies focusing on the interaction between platelets and MSC. In the future, with the help of this knowledge, bone healing could be positively influenced.
About the Single-Cell Center Würzburg
The Single-Cell Center Würzburg is a joint competence center of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI) with the Faculty of Medicine of the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU), the University Hospital Würzburg (UKW), the Fraunhofer Translational Center for Regenerative Therapies (TLZ-RT), and the Max Planck Research Group at the Würzburg Institute of Systems Immunology (WüSI).
The center’s objective is to analyze and understand diseases at the level of individual cells. In the future, this will enable the earliest possible and most reliable prediction of a disease and how it can be treated in the best possible way.
