| Home > Zentren > Zentrum für Innere Medizin > III. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik > Forschung > Klinische Forschergruppe 228
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| Prof. Dr. Rolf A.K. Stahl (Speaker) |
PD Dr. Ulf Panzer (Leader) |
Glomerulonephritis as a disease category is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease in the Western world and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The most aggressive form of glomerulonephritis with the worst clinical outcome is rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). RPGN represents a heterogeneous collection of disease entities. However, fundamental to each form of RPGN is the immune-mediated renal damage that consists of a specific immune reaction followed by an effector phase of inflammation. This pathophysiological concept is the current rationale for unspecific immunosuppressive therapy with corticosteroids and cytotoxic agents. The missing specificity of these therapeutic regimes, however, and the frequently disabling side effects are the main reasons for the urgent need to develop new and more specific individual therapeutic strategies.
This Clinical Research Group will bring together scientists with strong expertise in human and experimental glomerulonephritis (U. Panzer, F. Thaiss and R. Stahl), in cellular immunology (H.W. Mittrücker, C. Kurts, M. Sospedra and G. Tiegs) and in renal pathology (H. Hopfer and U. Helmchen). Using state-of-the-art techniques and (transgenic) animal models, combined with prospective studies in a large cohort of patients with RPGN, this Clinical Research Group seeks to better understand the immunopathogenesis of proliferative and crescentic glomerulonephritis. The contribution of cell-mediated immune responses in the development and progression of renal disease will be the main focus. These experimental approaches will identify, characterize and validate new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic targets for a more specific and less toxic treatment of human glomerulonephritis.
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