Maintenance of mitochondrial integrity in epidermal stem cells (A14*)

• Subject Area: Cell Biology
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 73111208

Progressive impairment of regeneration with age is partly due to a decline in tissue stem cell (SC) functionality. SCs have many mechanisms to minimize damage to preserve stemness and maintain their differentiation capacity, for which they also need intact mitochondria. The goal of this proposal is to test if mitochondrial DNA is protected against the accumulation of deletions in epidermal stem cells (EPSCs) by confining its replication rate to a minimum. For this purpose, we will genetically induce the generation of such deletions in EPSCs and test their functionality by various challenge strategies.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 829: Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Skin Homeostasis
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Rudolf Wiesner