Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP
Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP
The coronavirus refers to a family of viruses known for causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe respiratory diseases.

Bioimaging

The bioimaging platform enables a deep understanding of biological processes — from the spatial organization of tissue to the atomic structure of individual molecules. Using state-of-the-art imaging techniques, including super-resolution microscopy, cryo-electron microscopy, and high-multiplex antibody-based proteome imaging, as well as AI-assisted image analysis, the platform provides precise insights into disease-relevant mechanisms and drug effects. It supports the development of new therapeutic approaches—from target structure identification and molecular structural analyses to automated high-throughput screening.

 

Core Expertise:

  • High-throughput imaging and super-resolution microscopy
  • Automation of high- and ultrahigh-resolution microscopy techniques (super-resolution microscopy)
  • Establishment of modern staining protocols for characterizing cellular structures
  • Innovative image analysis using state-of-the-art deep learning approaches
  • High-multiplex antibody-based proteome imaging
  • Cryo-electron microscopy and high-precision image processing

 

Objectives/Services:

  • Structural analysis of cells and organelles in patient cells and disease models
  • Microscopy-based high-throughput assays for compound screening
  • Quantitative analysis of cellular neighborhoods
  • Highly sensitive analysis of drug effects
  • Molecular structure determination of drug–protein and antibody–protein complexes
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HIPPOCRATES – Early detection and therapy optimization in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis

Complex datasets from clinical parameters and high-multiplex antibody-based proteome imaging are collected from skin and synovial tissue of patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and bioinformatically analyzed. The resulting models are then used for diagnostics, predicting individual disease trajectories, and identifying personalized therapies.

Further Informations

DFG – Spatially resolved immune responses in the resolution of inflammation

Identification and characterization of immunological niches and drug effects involved in the resolution of inflammation are conducted in preclinical models as well as in patients with chronic inflammatory skin diseases using high-multiplex antibody-based proteome imaging.

PROXIDRUGS – Proximity-inducing drugs as innovative future treatment therapies

The PROXIDRUGS project of the Clusters4Future initiative develops targeted protein degradation therapies that direct disease-relevant proteins to the cellular recycling system, opening new treatment options for a broad spectrum of diseases. PROXIDRUGS aims to improve this new class of medicines in various ways: the strategy includes identifying suitable functional subunits for molecular engineering, optimizing pharmacological properties, and translating into clinical testing.

BMFTR – High-resolution drug screening

In the BMFTR-funded project, the consortium investigates the applications of high-resolution fluorescence microscopy for drug research and other high-throughput applications. Focus areas include automation of microscopy, establishment of generalized analysis protocols, and exploration of AI models for analyzing high-resolution image data.

Further Informations

Sahl S, Hell SW, Jakobs S. Fluorescence nanoscopy in cell biology.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 18, 685–701 (2017).
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrm.2017.71

 

Sahl SJ, Matthias J, Inamdar K, Weber M, Khan TA, Brüser C, Jakobs S, Becker S, Griesinger C, Broichhagen J, Hell SW. Direct optical measurement of intramolecular distances with angstrom precision. 
Science. 2024 Oct 11;386(6718):180-187.
doi: 10.1126/science.adj7368.

 

Kolbinger A, Schäufele TJ, Steigerwald H, Friedel J, Pierre S, Geisslinger G, Scholich K. Eosinophil-derived IL-4 is necessary to establish the inflammatory structure in innate inflammation.
EMBO Mol Med. 2023 Feb 8;15(2):e16796.
doi: 10.15252/emmm.20221679

 

Keiken Ri, Tsai-Hsuan Weng, Ainara Claveras Cabezudo, Wiebke Jösting, Yu Zhang, Andre Bazzone, Nancy C.P. Leong, Sonja Welsch, Raymond T. Doty, Gonca Gursu, Tiffany Jia Ying Lim, Sarah Luise Schmidt, Janis L. Abkowitz, Gerhard Hummer, Di Wu, Long N. Nguyen, Schara Safarian. Molecular mechanism of choline and ethanolamine transport in humans.
Nature - 630, 501–508 (2024)
doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07444-7