Immunocardiology

Inflammation is recognized as an important predictor for a worse outcome in heart failure. Underlying mechanisms of cardiac inflammation involving the innate and adaptive immune system, are incompletely understood. Based on endomyocardial biopsy analyses and immune profiles of well-characterized patient collectives, and experimental in vitro and in vivo models, we aim at gaining insights in the involvement of the immune system in heart failure and at finding potential biomarkers of heart failure. For the latter, particularly the use of hypothesis-free imaging mass spectrometry, covered by the integrated cardioproteomics group, is of importance. In addition, novel anti-inflammatory strategies are evaluated in experimental models of heart failure, which upon success, are translated into the clinic. On the other hand, working mechanisms of novel therapeutics used in the clinic are investigated in in vitro and in vivo settings. The impact of those therapeutical strategies on the cardiac proteomic signature is on its turn evaluated by cardioproteomics, highlighting the strong interactions among the clinical, experimental immunocardiology and the cardioprotemics group.

Aims

• Stratification of heart failure patients based on phenomapping
• Identification of biomarkers
• Identification of patient-specific therapy options (precision medicine)
• Clinical proof-of concept trials on anti-inflammatory or immunomodulatory interventions in patients with heart failure

Team

Guest Researcher
Ahmed Elsanhoury, PhD student, ahmed.elsanhoury@charite.de

Clinicians
Dr. Uwe Kühl, MD, Uwe.Kühl@charite.de
Dr. Frank Spillmann, MD, Frank.Spillmann@charite.de
Monika Willner (heart failure study nurse), monika.willner@charite.de