European Center for Angioscience, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University
Welcome to the Ploidy and Organ Physiology Laboratory

Mitotic rat cardiomyocytes in culture (green: tubulin, magenta: DNA)

Dissociated cardiomyocytes from a mouse heart

Cardiomyocyte undergoing furrow ingression. Red: RhoA, Green: cardiomyocytes, Blue: DNA

Mitotic rat cardiomyocytes in culture (green: tubulin, magenta: DNA)
Why some cells multiply their genome and become polyploid during their life cycle (i.e., somatic polyploidy)? How does somatic polyploidy influence cellular behavior and organ function?
We study cardiomyocytes - cardiac muscle cells responsible for the contractile function of the heart. BUT, not all cardiomyocytes are equal! In regenerative organisms like zebrafish, cardiomyocytes are predominantly diploid. In non-regenerative organisms like rodents and humans, cardiomyocytes are mostly polyploid.
We want to understand
(a) How mammalian cardiomyocytes become polyploid?
(b) How polyploidy affects cardiomyocyte and heart function?
(c) Inducing cardiomyocyte cytokinesis as a therapeutic approach?
CONTACT US
European Center for Angioscience
Ludolf-Krehl-Straße 13-17, 68167, Mannheim