Research Area A Genetic Etiology of Inflammatory Barrier Diseases

Leader of the RA: Thomas Bosch (cellbiology & developmental biology), Ute Nöthlings (epidemiology)

The strategy of this Research Area, a systematic approach to investigate the genetic basis of inflamma­tory barrier diseases, is characterized by an enormous progress in disease gene discovery.  Large and diverse patient samples are available at CAU (Crohn disease / inflammatory bowel diseases, atopic ec­zema, periodontitis, psoriasis), UzL (sarcoidosis, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid disorders) and through the Schleswig-Holstein population-representative biobank popgen.  The national genotyping platform of the NGFN at CAU and two genetic epidemiology methods centers at CAU and UzL are prin­cipal components of a powerful infrastructure in the region. Technology platforms (sequencing, high­throughput SNP genotyping, expression profiling, functional genomics) have been concentrated in the CAU Center for Molecular Biosciences (ZMB) to provide accessibility to the central technologies.  Recent hallmarks of successful exploration include discovery of disease genes in Crohn disease, sarcoidosis and gall stone disease.  Genome-wide association studies (500k+ SNP) are conducted in large samples (locally more than 10,000 patients) to understand how the complex interplay between multiple suscepti­bility genes ultimately determines disease phenotypes. With new sequencing technologies (Roche 454 GS-FLX and ABI/Agencourt SOLiD) full genetic risk maps will be described as a basis for a medical sys­tems biology. A strong connection to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (Dep. Evolution­ary Genetics) and to the Cluster of Excellence “The Future Ocean” (Kiel) will help to understand the evo­lutionary selection of genetic variability and diversity with focus on human disease genes. 

Scientists (young/new scientists underlined):

Rainer Adelung, John Baines, Ingolf Cascorbi, Christof Dörfer, Frank Döring, Jeanette Erdmann, Friederike Flachsbart, Ulrich Fölsch, Regina Fölster-Holst, Andre Franke, Wolfgang Gross, Jochen Hampe, Rolf Horstmann, Christian Jung, Frank Kempken, Christine Klein, Michael Krawczak, Tanja Kühbacher, Almuth Nebel, Michael Nothnagel, Stephan Ott, Schäfer, Stefan Schreiber, Hinrich Schulenburg, Heribert Schunkert, Manfred Schürmann, Thomas Schwarz, Diethard Tautz, Meike Teschke, Michael Weichenthal, Andreas Ziegler

Resources:

Genotyping 2 x ABI 7900 forTaqMan u. SNPlex Endpoint-Read Sequencing: 2× SOLiD v4 (Life Technologies), 3× Hiseq 2000 (Illumina) and 1× 454 GS-FLX (Roche) , 4 x ABI 3730 96-Capillary sequencer  Sample handling : Automated (robotic) sample handling. Data analysis: LIMS for data collection. Bioinformatics support group

Selected publications