ForIPS aims to establish the iPS technology and to use iPS cell derived neural cells as models to analyze the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Scientists of ForIPS re-program skin cells from PD patients and healthy control subjects, and differentiate those patient specific iPS cells into neural cells. As these neural cells constitute very specific cellular models researchers hope to decipher the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of PD.
The core project is the heart of the Bavarian Research Network ForIPS. This platform provides human iPSCs and neuronal derivates from Parkinson patients and healthy controls. Additionally, the core project supplies the project teams with standardized and validated reagents for stem cell cultivation. Scientifically, the core project aims to establish complementary non-integrating reprogramming strategies.
Another aim of the core project is to establish a biobank for human iPSCs in Bavaria. Setting up this efficient platform will be a starting point for advanced investigation of other brain diseases or disorders of other organs.
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