TRR 79:  Materials for Tissue Regeneration within Systemically Altered Bone

Subject Area Medicine
Chemistry
Materials Science and Engineering
Mathematics
Term from 2010 to 2019
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 107540325
 

Project Description

Treatment of fractures and defects in systemically altered hard tissue represents one of the major challenges in medicine. Represented by patients suffering from bone defects or pathological fractures related to osteoporosis or tumor diseases, as exemplified by multiple myeloma, bone healing is impaired and associated with complications, related to altered remodeling and biochemical properties of bone and, in multiple myeloma, additionally by the presence of the malignant cell population causing the defect. In these conditions, the integration of bone substitute materials, their “anchoring”, and long-term stability are severely impeded. The long-term aim of our TRR 79 is thus to develop a material concept laying the basis for an etiology-based development of bone substitute materials and implants. Within the third funding period and in collaboration with industrial partners, metallic implants and bone substitute materials developed for osteoporotic bone enter the translation-phase for clinical application. For the first time, our results allow meeting a second major clinical challenge, a local treatment of multiple myeloma in specific situations per se: Material properties and compounds released locally at high concentrations shall first eliminate residual myeloma cells after successful treatment, and secondly bring resistant myeloma cells under control locally, thereby avoiding further bone destruction. Furthermore, results in the second funding period lay the basis for a whole-body-detection of minimum numbers of tumor cells.Unique features of our SFB/TRR 79 initiative are: i) bone substitute materials and metallic implants are developed taking into account biomechanics, architecture and altered remodeling in systemically diseased bone in relation to the underlying disease (“etiology-adapted”). ii) Synergistically, bone defects in osteoporosis and malignant diseases are investigated simultaneously. iii) For the first time, materials are specifically developed for a local treatment of multiple myeloma. iv) Within our concept, the life sciences present themselves “at the service” of material development, simultaneously integrating state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology and imaging. Investigations in men, animal experiment, and cell culture are linked and feed back to material development. At the same time, they investigate own basic research questions related to specific topics, e.g. immunological elements of osteoporosis and multiple myeloma pathogenesis. The complexity of this challenge prerequisites an interdisciplinary collaboration of a synergistically acting research-consortium of “critical mass” (as the SFB/Transregio-initiative). Here we combine the complementary expertise at the different locations: Dresden – material science (bone substitute material and implants), Gießen – non-malignant bone defects (pathophysiology of osteoporosis, imaging) and animal models, and Heidelberg – life sciences, imaging and multiple myeloma.
DFG Programme CRC/Transregios

Completed projects

Applicant Institution Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Co-Applicant Institution Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; Technische Universität Dresden
Participating Institution Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR); Leibniz-Institut für Festkörper- und Werkstoffforschung Dresden (IFW) e.V.; Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (IPF); Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung
Spokespersons Professor Dr. Christian Heiß, since 7/2014; Professor Dr. Reinhard Schnettler, until 6/2014