Competence Center MechanoBiology in Regenerative Medicine

The aim of this project is to establish a competence center for MechanoBiology in regenerative medicine. The work focuses on the:

(i) Characterization of mechanical stimulation on tissue and organ regeneration:

• Development of new methods to establish three dimensional stem cell cultures suitable for tissue regeneration
• Establish new methods to investigate friction of two joint surfaces in motion
• Characterization of biological lubricants to support joint movement
• Determine die activation level of molecules involved in mechanobiological signaling

(ii) Development of specific tissue constructs to design mechanobiological studies:

• Development and fine tuning of mechanobiological signals
• Investigate die impact of mechanical signals and mechanobiologischal stimulation on three dimensional cartilage constructs
• Investigation of influence of the autologous matrices on the development of a three dimensional mesenchymal stem cell culture

(iii) Elucidate mechanisms how physical therapies work to improve their efficiency

• Establish new methods to investigate the interaction of mesenchymal stem cells and the extracellular matrix
• Characterization of intracellular structures like the cytoskeleton as well as mitochondrial morphology after applying biophysical intervention

The project is pursuing the strategy of supporting the body's self-healing powers in order to restore dysfunctional cells and tissues, thereby reducing therapy costs.

This project is funded by the EU, in particular the European Regional Development Fund.

This project is funded by the governement of lower austria and the European Regional Development Fund (www.efre.gv.at).

Funding:  EU INTERREG AT CZ-215

                 Country of Lower Austria, EFRE