Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has become a globally prevalent chronic disease with no causal therapeutic options. Targeted drug delivery systems with selectivity for inflamed areas in the gastrointestinal tract promise to reduce severe drug-related side effects. By creating three distinct nanostructures (vesicles, spherical, and wormlike micelles) from the same amphiphilic block copolymer poly(butyl acrylate)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) […]

Summary: Mechanistic models are important tools to describe and understand biological processes. However, they typically rely on unknown parameters, the estimation of which can be challenging for large and complex systems. pyPESTO is a modular framework for systematic parameter estimation, with scalable algorithms for optimization and uncertainty quantification. While tailored to ordinary differential equation problems, […]

Diffusion and mobility are essential for cellular functions, as molecules are usually distributed throughout the cell and have to meet to interact and perform their function. This also involves the cytosolic migration of cellular organelles. However, observing such diffusion and interaction dynamics is challenging due to the high spatial and temporal resolution required and the […]

Background & aimsExcretory liver failure is frequently associated with poor prognosis in critically ill patients. It is characterized by the loss of canalicular membrane export pumps at the hepatocyte membrane. The membrane export pump Multidrug resistant-associated protein (MRP) 2 is pivotal in hepatocytes for brushed membrane morphology and transport of various metabolites. In addition, MRP2 […]

Cell cultures are important techniques to investigate cellular processes in a simplified manner. The most commonly applied 2D models do not simulate most of the in vivo conditions whereas cryogels as promising 3D cell culture materials are able to provide both a structured microenvironment and tailored surface properties, similar to the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). […]

Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome (Sp-HUS) is a kidney disease characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury. This disease is frequently underdiagnosed and its pathophysiology is poorly understood. In this work, we compared clinical strains, isolated from infant Sp-HUS patients, with a reference pathogenic strain D39, for host cytotoxicity and further explored […]

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is a critical liver condition during hepatic transplantation, trauma, or shock. An ischemic deprivation of antioxidants and energy characterizes liver injury in such cases. In the face of increased reactive oxygen production, hepatocytes are vulnerable to the reperfusion driving ROS generation and multiple cell-death mechanisms. In this study, we investigate the importance of […]

Cryogels represent a class of porous sponge-like materials possessing unique properties including high-fidelity reproduction of tissue structure and maximized permeability. Their architecture is mainly based on an interconnected network of macropores that provides sufficient stability whilst allowing the movement of substances through the material. In most cryogel applications, the pore size is very important, especially […]

The immune system has to fight off hundreds of microbial invaders every day, such as the human-pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. The fungal conidia can reach the lower respiratory tract, swell and form hyphae within six hours causing life-threatening invasive aspergillosis. Invading pathogens are continuously recognized and eliminated by alveolar macrophages (AM). Their number plays an […]