#cecad

Protect the Skin, Build Barriers: Old Acquaintance in a New Role

To ensure the barrier function of the skin, mutual regulation of connections between epidermal cells and a receptor for growth factors is necessary. These findings can help to reduce the effects of inflammatory skin diseases and the decreased barrier function of the aged skin. The mechanism was described by a team of researchersled by Carien Niessen of the Cluster of Excellence for aging…

Dieting Causes Epigenetic Changes During Ageing

Reduced food consumption extends the lifespan of many organisms, including primates. The biology behind how this is achieved, however, is not yet fully understood. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing and the Cluster of Excellence for Aging ResearchCECAD, Cologne, Germany, as well as the Babraham Institute in Cambridge have now found that in mice, dietary restriction…

New Insights on How Pathogens Escape the Immune System

The bacterium Salmonella enterica causes gastroenteritis in humans and is one of the leading causes of food-borne infectious diseases. During the infection, the germ is able to trick the immune system. Researchers led by Nirmal Robinson from the Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research CECAD found a mechanism the pathogen uses. They hope to use the gained knowledge in the fightagainst cancer and…

A New Switch Decides Between Genome Repair and Death of Cells

One of the most important decisions a cell has to make is a matter of life and death: can damage be repaired or is it better to undergo cellular suicide to prevent further harm? In a cascade of a so far poorly understood signaling pathway, researchers from the Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research CECAD at the University of Cologne identified a proteincalled UFD-2, which plays a key role in…

Stem Cells Feel the Force

A team of scientists led by Sara Wickström, Principal Investigator at CECAD, the Cluster of Excellence in Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases at the University of Cologne, gained new insights into how stem cells feel and respond to external mechanical forces by changing the way DNA is organized in the nucleus, and thereby the expression of genes that are required for stem cell