Welcome to HCTI
Hamburg Center for Translational Immunology
Background
Autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases are showing an increasing incidence. They are caused by a dysregulation of the immune system, which leads to a pathological inflammatory reaction in various organ systems. The clinical spectrum ranges, depending on the form of the disease and the organs affected, from impaired quality of life to life-threatening courses. The HCTI offers a nationally and internationally unique organ immunology, patient cohorts, new comparative analysis approaches and a comprehensive system immunology.
Goals of the HCTI
The therapies currently available are mostly empirical in nature and consist of general immunosuppression with sometimes severe side effects. As an overarching goal, the HCTI will define why different organ systems show such variable reaction patterns to the underlying autoimmune disease and from this generate fundamental knowledge for new, organ-specific and cross-organ therapies with few side effects (HCTI DISCOVERY IDEA). For the first time, the HCTI brings together outstanding experts for very different immune-tolerant organ systems (fetomaternal system, liver, intestines, CNS and kidneys) in order to systematically map and compare the immune reactions and tissue responses.
HCTI translation strategy
Die HCTI-Translations-Strategie (HCTI DISCOVERY PATH) basiert auf
HCTI BIOBANKS AND ORGAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
(1.) z.T. weltweit einzigartigen Patientenkohorten und Biobanken im Bereich der autoimmunen Organmanifestation (HCTI BIOBANKS AND ORGAN ENCYCLOPEDIA), welche mittels der Kombination von hochauflösenden Gewebetechniken zur Erstellung von molekularen Organatlanten genutzt werden sollen;
HCTI EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM
(2.) einer experimentellen Plattform für die detaillierte Analyse von Immunprozessen und der Interaktion von Immun- und Gewebestrukturen (HCTI EXPERIMENTAL PLATFORM);
HCTI DISEASE MODELLING PLATFORM
(3.) präklinischen, komplementären Modellen einschließlich Organoiden-, Zell- und Tiermodellen, um die erkrankungsrelevanten Signalwege dynamisch zu analysieren und zu manipulieren (HCTI DISEASE MODELLING PLATFORM);
HCTI CLUSTER FOR INNOVATIVE THERAPIES
(4.) eine Innovationsplattform (HCTI CLUSTER FOR INNOVATIVE THERAPIES, HCTI-CIT) in welcher Immun-, Signalweg-, Gewebe- und Zellspezifische Techniken angewendet und weiter entwickelt werden und
HCTI TRANSLATIONAL BOARDS
(5.) ein Studienboard (HCTI TRANSLATIONAL BOARDS) bestehend aus HCTI-Mitgliedern und Kliniken des UKE, um aus dem HCTI heraus eine Translation der Ergebnisse zu ersten klinischen Studien hin anzutreiben.
Systems immunology
All 5 main research areas are catalyzed and linked by system immunology, including artificial intelligence-based immunology, using data management, analysis, modeling, prediction and quality control (HCTI SYSTEMS AND AI-BASED IMMUNOLOGY CATALYST, HCTISysIm).