Research

Glycolysis is an important sugar degradation pathway that cancer cells in particular depend on. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now shown that liver cancer cells in mice and humans depend on a key enzyme of glycolysis, Aldolase A. When it is switched off, glycolysis reverses from an energy-producing to an energy-consuming […]

Kenzelmann A, Boch C, Schmidt R, Richter M, Schulz M. Exploration of Novel Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases Using Proteomic Analysis and Ligand-Binding Assays. Biomedicines. 2024 Dec 9;12(12):2794. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12122794. PMID: 39767701; PMCID: PMC11673003. Abstract Background/objectives: Neurodegenerative diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and their public health burden continues to increase. There is […]

Würth, R., Donato, E., Michel, L.L. et al. Circulating tumor cell plasticity determines breast cancer therapy resistance via neuregulin 1–HER3 signaling. Nat Cancer (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-024-00882-2 Abstract Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) drive metastasis, the leading cause of death in individuals with breast cancer. Due to their low abundance in the circulation, robust CTC expansion protocols are urgently needed to effectively […]

Leppä, AM., Grimes, K., Jeong, H. et al. Single-cell multiomics analysis reveals dynamic clonal evolution and targetable phenotypes in acute myeloid leukemia with complex karyotype. Nat Genet 56, 2790–2803 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01999-x Abstract Chromosomal instability is a major driver of intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH), promoting tumor progression. In the present study, we combined structural variant discovery and nucleosome occupancy profiling with […]

EMBL researchers showed for the first time that adding a sugar to proteins inside cells is crucial for embryo development and for shutting down completely harmful parts of the genome in vivo Protein modifications are key to cell survival because they ensure they do what they are supposed to do in a healthy system. One […]

Study identifies a novel mechanism driving osteosarcoma and provides insights to help predict patient outcomes Summary Osteosarcoma is a type of aggressive bone cancer that most commonly affects children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 20, during times of rapid bone growth. Although rare, it has a significant impact on young people […]

If the development of blood vessels in the placenta is impaired, fetal growth retardation may result. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Mannheim Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University discovered that the correct development of functioning blood vessels in the mouse placenta is controlled epigenetically: One of the enzymes that modify gene […]

Tumor cells circulating in the blood are the “germ cells” of breast cancer metastases. They are very rare and could not be propagated in the culture dish until now, which made research into therapy resistance difficult. A team from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg Stem Cell Institute HI-STEM* and the NCT Heidelberg** […]

EMBL scientists discover that an FDA-approved, over-the-counter cough syrup ingredient has potential to treat fibrotic lung disease. Summary A common over-the-counter ingredient in many cough syrups may have a greater purpose for people suffering from lung fibrosis that is related to any number of serious health conditions.  Scientists from EMBL Heidelberg were part of a […]