Detail

Keywords

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Dermis; Fibroblasts; Keloid; Melanoma; Regenerative Medicine; Scleroderma, Systemic; Skin; Stem Cell Niche

Research group(s)

• Lichtenberger Laboratory for Fibroblast Research
  Head: Beate Maria Lichtenberger
  Research Area: We aim at dissecting how targeting fibroblasts can be used to redirect wound repair into scarless healing, and to develop therapies for fibrotic skin diseases like scleroderma or keloids, and skin cancer.
  Members:
  Beate Maria Lichtenberger

Research interests

Functional Deconstruction of distinct fibroblast subsets in skin physiology and disease

Skin fibroblasts arise from two distinct lineages during embryogenesis, which have unique functions in skin development and homeostasis. In mouse skin, one lineage gives rise to the upper, papillary dermis, including fibroblasts of the dermal papilla, dermal sheath and arrector pili muscle, required for hair follicle (HF) formation. The other lineage forms the lower dermis, including the reticular fibroblasts that synthesize the bulk of the fibrillar extra-cellular matrix (ECM), and the preadipocytes and adipocytes of the hypodermis. Accordingly, distinct fibroblast subsets exist in human skin. Apart from their essential role during skin development, the subpopulations have unique functions during wound healing and fibrosis, and possibly other skin pathologies such as skin cancer.

Our laboratory is dissecting the immunomodulatory role of fibroblasts in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, and how targeting specific subsets can be used for anti-cancer therapies. In addition, our lab is also investigating if modulating dermal signaling can redirect regeneration upon injury to a more scarless phenotype. Furthermore, we aim at developing therapies for fibroblast-mediated skin pathologies such as scleroderma and keloids, which lack an effective clinical treatment regimen.

For more information visit us @ lichtenbergerlab.org

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

We use a broad range of methods including state-of-the-art cell and molecular biology methods, 3D in vitro culture systems (human skin equivalents, organoid cultures), next generation sequencing, single-cell transcriptomics, flow and mass cytometry (CyTOF), in vivo lineage tracing techniques and cutting-edge imaging technologies including imaging mass cytometry, and conditional knock-out mice or murine skin disease models to unravel the role of distinct fibroblast subsets in skin physiology and pathology.

Grants

• Research Grant (Replacing in vivo skin cancer studies by tumor organoids, P 36368-B) (2023)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Standalone
  Principal Investigator
• Research Grant (Controlling the epigenetic switch of skin fibroblast aging, P 35307-B) (2022)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Standalone grant Herzfelder Stifting
  Principal Investigator
• Research Grant (Skin cancer organoids for personalized drug screening, GMWF-22059) (2022)
  Source of Funding: City of Vienna, City of Vienna Fund for Innovative Interdisciplinary Cancer Research
  Principal Investigator
• LEO Foundation Award 2021 (LF-AW_EMEA-21-400116) (2021)
  Source of Funding: EU, LEO Foundation
  Principal Investigator
• Research Grant (Imaging Mass Cytometry for diagnostic and prognostic analysis of skin cancer, GMWF-21059) (2021)
  Source of Funding: City of Vienna, City of Vienna Fund for Innovative Interdisciplinary Cancer Research
  Principal Investigator
• Forschungsentwicklungspreis der Stadt Wien (Molecular Atlas of human skin cancer) (2020)
  Source of Funding: City of Vienna, City of Vienna Fund for Innovative Interdisciplinary Cancer Research
  Principal Investigator
• orschungsentwicklungspreis der Stadt Wien, (Molecular Atlas of human skin cancer) (2019)
  Source of Funding: City of Vienna, City of Vienna Fund for Innovative Interdisciplinary Cancer Research
  Principal Investigator
• Functional Deconstruction of Fibroblast Heterogeneity in Malignant Skin Cancer (2018)
  Source of Funding: OeNB (Oesterreichische Nationalbank), Anniversary Fund
  Principal Investigator
• Functional Deconstruction of Fibroblast Heterogeneity in Skin Cancer (PhD fellowship to Sophie Frech) (2017)
  Source of Funding: OeAW (Austrian Academy of Sciences), DOC
  Principal Investigator
• CAFs - Paving The Way For New Cancer Therapies (2016)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Elise Richter Programme
  Principal Investigator
• FEBS Follow-up Research Award (2016)
  Source of Funding: FEBS (Federation of European Biochemical Societies), Follow-up Research Fund
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Korosec, A. et al., 2019. Lineage Identity and Location within the Dermis Determine the Function of Papillary and Reticular Fibroblasts in Human Skin. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 139(2), pp.342-351. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2018.07.033.
2. Lichtenberger, B.M., Mastrogiannaki, M. & Watt, F.M., 2016. Epidermal β-catenin activation remodels the dermis via paracrine signalling to distinct fibroblast lineages. Nature Communications, 7(1). Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10537.
3. Mastrogiannaki, M. et al., 2016. β-Catenin Stabilization in Skin Fibroblasts Causes Fibrotic Lesions by Preventing Adipocyte Differentiation of the Reticular Dermis. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 136(6), pp.1130-1142. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2016.01.036.
4. Driskell, R.R. et al., 2013. Distinct fibroblast lineages determine dermal architecture in skin development and repair. Nature, 504(7479), pp.277-281. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12783.
5. Frech, S. et al. (2022) ‘Hedgehog Signaling in Papillary Fibroblasts Is Essential for Hair Follicle Regeneration during Wound Healing’, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 142(6), pp. 1737-1748.e5. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2021.11.026.