TOMORROWTODAY 6
The AIT experts – Winfried Neuhaus (left) pictured with Palle Helmke – are working on diseases including stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s and Rett syndrome.
BIOLOGICAL BARRIERS: THE GATEKEEPERS OF THE TISSUE The Principal Scientist Winfried Neuhaus’s research team is working on identifying and evaluating molecular biomarkers that could help to detect diseases early, as well as developing treatment strategies.
CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH: AIT IS AT THE FOREFRONT IN EUROPE “AIT has outstanding facilities in researching biological barriers,” according to Principal Scientist Winfried Neuhaus, who continued to say that “understanding the tasks of biological barriers is relevant to a lot of diseases.” The function of biological barriers is often altered in diseases. Reestablishing the original, healthy condition can alleviate the progression of the disease. In turn, biological barriers release molecules and the pattern of released molecules could change during diseases. These differences can be detected and used as biomarkers. How do the tissue biomarkers reach the body fluids? How do they cross biological barriers or are they able to permeate or not in general? AIT is one of the leading
Photo: PicturePeople
Complex organisms cannot survive without biological barriers. They protect internal tissues, separate them from the outside and regulate substance exchange. They are a “biological obstacle” for microorganisms, toxins or even pharmaceuticals. Drugs have to overcome biological barriers in order to reach their target sites. Examples of biological barriers include the epithelium of the skin, gut and lungs, as well as the placental barrier or the blood-brain barrier. It is generally very important to understand the functions of biological barriers. The importance of the knowledge about their functionality increase especially in the context of personalized medicine. The active agents administered for instance as salves or tablets, have to penetrate biological barriers without any modification, so they can effect at the intended “place of action” in the body.