SFB 914 Trafficking of Immune Cells in Inflammation, Development and Disease
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About the SFB

Trafficking of Immune Cells in Inflammation, Development and Disease

Trafficking of immune cells is a key prerequisite for immune surveillance under physiological steady state conditions and during disease states. Proper immune surveillance is of utmost importance in mammalian homeostasis as it ensures defense against pathogen intruders, but also because it guarantees tissue integrity through the continuous removal of dying cells. In order to be both functional and efficient, the migration and trafficking behavior of immune cells has to be precisely controlled and fine-tuned on demand. This critical task is complicated by the fact that trafficking of immune cells does not follow a uniform process. Indeed, different types of immune cells are rather endowed with unique machinery allowing them to chase subset-specific trafficking routes in order to fulfill their individual tasks within their individual target tissues.

To date, the molecular and cellular signatures that control and organize this complex process of mammalian immune cell trafficking are still incompletely understood. It is therefore the mission of the SFB to dissect the signals and mechanisms that regulate the migratory responses of distinct leukocyte subsets during inflammation, development and in disease states. An Integrated Research Training Group entitled “Leukocyte Trafficking” flanks our scientific efforts. As a long-term perspective, the SFB aims to contribute to the development of innovative concepts for therapeutic interventions during acute and chronic infectious and non-infectious inflammatory diseases by specifically and selectively targeting the identified migratory patterns of distinct leukocyte subsets.

Participating institutions:

  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
  • Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie (MPIB) Martinsried
  • Technische Universität München (TUM)

See the original press release about the establishment of SFB 914 from June 2011.