AG Prof. Dr. Marieta Toma
Toma Lab - Experimental Pathology
About the Lab
Functional and therapeutical analyses of organoids from patient-derived material
Organoids are cultured three-dimensional cell aggregates, which can be obtained from patient-derived tissue. Under particular culture conditions, it is possible to grow organoids over a long period of time (from weeks to months). Whereas commercial cell lines have been altered resulting in abnormal or uncontrolled proliferative capacities and metabolic function, organoids maintain some key features of the derived tissue, such as the architecture and functionality. Therefore, organoid cultures represent an important tool for translational research and personalized medicine. In our lab we established a protocol for the cultivation of organoids from several tissue types, including several cancer entities. Our main goal is to establish a routinely applicable model in order to integrate clinical and in vitro information.
Response of patient-derived organoids to immunotherapy
During the last years, immunotherapy has become an important treatment option for several cancer types. However, the response to immunotherapy is inadequate in many patients. The molecular mechanisms of this lack of response are still not completely understood. Therefore, there is an urgent need of reliable in vitro models in order to understand the complex interactions between immune cells and tumor cells during immunotherapy. In our lab we use a so-called air-liquid-interface (ALI-PDO) model, which consists of a three-dimensional co-culture of tumor tissue and tumor-associated immune cells. With this in vitro model it is possible to test the effects of immunotherapy in settings that resemble the in vivo situation more closely.
The effect of mitophagy on therapy response
Mitophagy is the process of mitochondrial autophagy and it represents an adaptive strategy to many different stress conditions, such as DNA damage and hypoxia. There is emerging evidence that mitophagy plays a pivotal role in cancer progression and anticancer therapy response. One of our main interests is to understand the molecular basis of mitophagy disregulation in cancer and the mechanism of mitophagy-related resistance to chemotherapy.
Members
Dr. med. Vittorio Branchi, MD, Else Kröner PostDoc Fellow (AG Matthaei)
Racha Hosni, PhD student
Kerstin Fuchs, BTA
Neilla Bambi, MD candidate
Nada Felfela, MD candidate
Jan Pfeifer, MD candidate
Adrian Simon, MD candidate
Cooperation partners
PD Dr. med. Hanno Matthaei
Department of General, Abdominal, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery
Bonn University Hospital
Prof. Dr. med. Michael Hölzel
Institute of Experimental Oncology
Bonn University Hospital
Prof. Dr. med. Jörg Ellinger
Department of Urology
Bonn University Hospital
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Hubert Schorle
Department of Molecular Diagnostics and Department of Developmental Pathology
Bonn University Hospital
