Concept of the SFB 688

The SFB 688 represents a join together of Würzburg scientists and clinicians from four faculties and eleven institutes/clinics, linking their expertise and infrastructure for investigating

• Mechanisms of cardiovascular cell-cell interactions, and

• Molecular and functional imaging of these interactions.

This integrated approach unites complementary areas of research including molecular biology, physiology, biophysics, proteomics and bioinformatics, with clinical medicine. In the cardiovascular system, cell-cell interactions are not only essential for organ perfusion, but also for diverse processes such as inflammation, adaptation, and healing. Alterations in cell-cell interactions contribute to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases of the cardiovascular system, and thus are prime targets for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. For example, a primary disturbance of the very dynamic and highly-regulated interaction of blood cells with the vessel wall underlies the acute coronary syndrome. Blood leukocyte transmigration and invasion is central to the pathology of cardiac and cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. The function and dysfunction of cell-cell interactions will be investigated in an effort to facilitate recognition and prevention of cardiovascular illness.