Funding application successful: New DFG research unit with BMC participation

December 19, 2023

Antje Grosche is part of the new DFG research unit that is developing innovative approaches for the treatment of retinal diseases.

As things stand, the eye is one of the few organs that can be successfully treated with gene therapies when diseased. Nevertheless, the therapeutic possibilities are far from exhausted. The new DFG research unit "OCU-GT: Addressing the Unmet Needs in Ocular Gene Therapy" is seeking to develop innovative approaches.

Worldwide, 8.5% of adults suffer from diabetes, and a third of them develop diabetic retinopathy, one of the main causes of blindness in adults. Diabetic retinopathy is associated with characteristic changes in Müller cells, the glial cells of the retina. The underlying causes of the eye disease are difficult to correct and currently require years or decades of treatment.
Within this DFG research unit, Professor Antje Grosche from the Biomedical Center (BMC) will investigate the functions of Müller cells in more detail. Her aim is to prolong the survival of nerve cells in the diabetic retina and thus protect vision by developing a gene therapy to improve Müller cell function in diabetic pigs.

"We want to develop a gene therapy approach using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors to reprogram Müller cell metabolism and test it in vitro as well as in vivo. By dCas9-VPR-mediated overexpression of key metabolic genes in Müller cells, we aim to enhance the homeostatic function of Müller glial cells in the diabetic retina, thereby improving neuronal survival and blood-retinal barrier integrity in diabetic retinopathy," explains Antje Grosche. This research work will be carried out in close collaboration with Dr. Stefanie Hauck (Research Unit Protein Science and Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München).

The research group is made up of nine sub-projects, seven of which involve researchers from LMU and LMU Klinikum.

More information on www.lmu.de/en