Detail

Keywords

Arthritis; Bone and Bones; Carbohydrates; Cartilage; Cell Biology; Galectins; Histology; In Vitro; Inflammation; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells; Molecular Biology; Orthopedics; Osteoarthritis; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Synovial Membrane

Research group(s)

• Karl Chiari Lab for Orthopaedic Biology
  Research Area: The overall goal is to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying orthopaedic diseases and to develop novel prevention and therapy strategies.
  Members:
  Stefan Tögel

Research interests

My main research interest centers on the pathobiology of degenerative joint diseases, in particular of osteoarthritis, and includes diverse topics such as glycobiology, stem cells, differentiation mechanisms, inflammatory signaling, and anti-inflammatory/chondroprotective strategies. A clear focus is set on the ‘Glycobiology of osteoarthritis’ which aims to unravel the biological relevance of carbohydrate structures and carbohydrate receptors (lectins) for joint tissue integrity.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

Scientific challenges in the field of orthopaedic biology are addressed using a multidisciplinary approach with techniques from molecular cell biology, biochemistry, imaging, and tissue engineering. Our lab has expertise in primary cell culture, RT-qPCR, NIR-based quantitative Western blot, three-dimensional culture systems and the guided differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. RT-qPCR techniques are applied at the most current standards, and my work contributed to develop and evaluate the widely accepted MIQE guidelines. 

Selected publications

1. Weinmann, D. et al., 2018. Galectin-8 induces functional disease markers in human osteoarthritis and cooperates with galectins-1 and -3. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 75(22), pp.4187-4205. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00018-018-2856-2.
2. Weinmann, D. et al., 2016. Galectin-3 Induces a Pro-degradative/inflammatory Gene Signature in Human Chondrocytes, Teaming Up with Galectin-1 in Osteoarthritis Pathogenesis. Scientific Reports, 6(1). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep39112.
3. Toegel, S. et al., 2016. Galectin-1 Couples Glycobiology to Inflammation in Osteoarthritis through the Activation of an NF-κB-Regulated Gene Network. The Journal of Immunology, 196(4), pp.1910-1921. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.1501165.
4. Walzer, S.M., Weinmann, D. & Toegel, S., 2015. Medical Plant Extracts for Treating Knee Osteoarthritis: a Snapshot of Recent Clinical Trials and Their Biological Background. Current Rheumatology Reports, 17(8). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11926-015-0530-3.
5. Bustin, S.A. et al., 2013. The need for transparency and good practices in the qPCR literature. Nature Methods, 10(11), pp.1063-1067. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2697.