Regenerative Medicine

Professor Dr. med. Hubert Löwenheim

Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
Tübingen Hearing Research Centre
Elfriede-Aulhorn-Strasse 5
D-72076 Tübingen
Germany

Phone: +49 (0)7071/29-88088
Fax: +49 (0)7071/29-3311
hubert.loewenheim@uni-tuebingen.de

The Löwenheim group is located at the University of Tübingen Medical Centre, Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery. The group has exclusive access to laboratories for biochemical, cell biological, molecular-biological and physiological work. There are three rooms equipped with biosafety cabinets for cell and organ culture, several shared central equipment core rooms, and two audio booths for small animals fully equipped for sophisticated auditory electrophysiology. There are three fluorescence microscopes (one LSM) exclusively used by the Löwenheim group. There is access to LSM, TEM and SEM electron microscopes located anatomical department of the University of Tübingen. Animal care facility (SPF) is located within the building. The medical school Tübingen has several core facilities, including DNA sequencing, microarray, laser dissection, FACS, PET, MET, Proteomics and transgenic mouse facility.

The group has established several inner ear assay platforms: murine inner ear derived cell lines, cochlear progenitor cell expansion, in vitro cochlea spiral ganglion cell model, in vitro culture model for the whole inner ear for drug screening; in vivo hearing loss models and local drug application technology.

Senior staff:

Prof. Dr. med. Hubert Löwenheim, Leader of the project team “Regenerative Medicine” at the Tübingen Hearing Research Center, Ärztlicher Direktor, Klinik für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde Tübingen.

Priv.-Doz. Dr. phil. nat. Marcus Müller, Senior scientist with too many years of experience in various in vivo animal models, inner ear local drug application technology, and functional assessment of the inner ear in birds and mammals.

Research Interest

Regeneration in the inner ear
Stem cell research
Water regulation in the inner ear
Treatment of noise induced hearing loss
Protection of hair cell loss after acoustic or ototoxic trauma
Development of organ culture methods to reduce animal experiments
Improvement of cochlear implant performance

—

National and international scientific partners

http://thrc.hno.medizin.uni-tuebingen.de/groups/home

Fero and Roberts, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle USA
Gharabaghi, Klinik für Neurochirurgie am Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
Kumagami, Nagasaki University, Japan
Heller, Stanford University, Stanford USA
Hirt, Anatomisches Institut der Universität Tübingen
Rask-Andersen, Department of Otosurgery, University Hospital Uppsala, Sweden
Schlosshauer, NMI Reutlingen
Schrattenholz, ProteoSys AG Mainz
Senn, Inselspital Bern, Schweiz
Tatagiba, Klinik für Neurochirurgie am Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
Wiesmüller, EMC microcollections GmbH Tübingen

Publications

Pubmed Hubert Löwenheim External Link

Pubmed Anke Tropitzsch External Link

Pubmed Marcus Müller External Link

Selected Publications

Bassiouni M, Dos Santos A, Avci HX, Löwenheim H, Müller M
"Bmi1 Loss in the Organ of Corti Results in p16ink4a Upregulation and Reduced Cell Proliferation of Otic Progenitors In Vitro."
PLoS One11pe0164579(2016)

Müller M, Tisch M, Maier H, Löwenheim H
"[Reduction of permanent hearing loss by local glucocorticoid application : Guinea pigs with acute acoustic trauma. German version]."
HNO64p831-840(2016)

Frick C, Müller M, Wank U, Tropitzsch A, Kramer B, Senn P, Rask-Andersen H, Wiesmüller KH, Löwenheim H
"Biofunctionalized peptide-based hydrogels provide permissive scaffolds to attract neurite outgrowth from spiral ganglion neurons."
Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces149p105-114(2016)

Shiozawa T, Epe P, Herlan S, Müller M, Tropitzsch A, Tsiflikas I, Hirt B
"Clinically relevant variations of the superior thyroid cornu."
Surg Radiol Anatp(2016)

Zahnert T, Löwenheim H, Beutner D, Hagen R, Ernst A, Pau HW, Zehlicke T, Kühne H, Friese N, Tropitzsch A, Lüers JC, Mlynski R, Todt I, Hüttenbrink KB
"Multicenter Clinical Trial of Vibroplasty Couplers to Treat Mixed/Conductive Hearing Loss: First Results."
Audiol Neurootol21p212-222(2016)

Reimann K, Arnold H, Bisdas S, Sipos B, Zimmermann R, Zenner HP, Löwenheim H
"Cavernous Angiomyoma of the Internal Auditory Canal."
Otol Neurotolp(2015)

Hahnewald S, Tscherter A, Marconi E, Streit J, Widmer HR, Garnham C, Benav H, Mueller M, Löwenheim H, Roccio M, Senn P
"Response profiles of murine spiral ganglion neurons on multi-electrode arrays."
J Neural Eng13p016011(2016)

Bako P, Bassiouni M, Eckhard A, Gerlinger I, Frick C, Löwenheim H, Müller M
"Methyl methacrylate embedding to study the morphology and immunohistochemistry of adult guinea pig and mouse cochleae."
J Neurosci Methods254p86-93(2015)

Eckhard A, Dos Santos A, Liu W, Bassiouni M, Arnold H, Gleiser C, Hirt B, Harteneck C, Müller M, Rask-Andersen H, Löwenheim H
"Regulation of the perilymphatic-endolymphatic water shunt in the cochlea by membrane translocation of aquaporin-5."
Pflugers Arch467p2571-88(2015)

Friese N, Braun K, Müller M, Tropitzsch A
"[Personalized medicine in otology. The role of genetic diagnostics in patients with hearing impairment]."
HNO63p428-33(2015)

Braun K, Zenner HP, Friese N, Tropitzsch A
"[Differential indication of active middle ear implants]."
HNO63p402-18(2015)

Liu W, Edin F, Atturo F, Rieger G, Löwenheim H, Senn P, Blumer M, Schrott-Fischer A, Rask-Andersen H, Glueckert R
"The pre- and post-somatic segments of the human type I spiral ganglion neurons--structural and functional considerations related to cochlear implantation."
Neuroscience284p470-82(2015)

Ebner FH, Kleiter M, Danz S, Ernemann U, Hirt B, Löwenheim H, Roser F, Tatagiba M
"Topographic changes in petrous bone anatomy in the presence of a vestibular schwannoma and implications for the retrosigmoid transmeatal approach."
Neurosurgery10 Suppl 3p481-6(2014)

Tropitzsch A, Arnold H, Bassiouni M, Müller A, Eckhard A, Müller M, Löwenheim H
"Assessing cisplatin-induced ototoxicity and otoprotection in whole organ culture of the mouse inner ear in simulated microgravity."
Toxicol Lett227p203-12(2014)

Sahaboglu A, Bolz S, Löwenheim H, Paquet-Durand F
"Expression of poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase in wild-type and PARG-110 knock-out retina."
Adv Exp Med Biol801p463-9(2014)

Eckhard A, Müller M, Salt A, Smolders J, Rask-Andersen H, Löwenheim H
"Water permeability of the mammalian cochlea: functional features of an aquaporin-facilitated water shunt at the perilymph-endolymph barrier."
Pflugers Arch466p1963-85(2014)

Eckhard A, Gleiser C, Arnold H, Rask-Andersen H, Kumagami H, Müller M, Hirt B, Löwenheim H
"Water channel proteins in the inner ear and their link to hearing impairment and deafness."
Mol Aspects Medp(2012)

Waldhaus J, Cimerman J, Gohlke H, Ehrich M, Müller M, Löwenheim H
"Stemness of the organ of Corti relates to the epigenetic status of Sox2 enhancers."
PLoS One7pe36066(2012)

Müller M, Hoidis S, Smolders JW
"A physiological frequency-position map of the chinchilla cochlea."
Hear Res268p184-93(2010)

Hirt B, Penkova ZH, Eckhard A, Liu W, Rask-Andersen H, Müller M, Löwenheim H
"The subcellular distribution of aquaporin 5 in the cochlea reveals a water shunt at the perilymph-endolymph barrier."
Neuroscience168p957-70(2010)

Arnold HJ, Müller M, Waldhaus J, Hahn H, Löwenheim H
"A novel buoyancy technique optimizes simulated microgravity conditions for whole sensory organ culture in rotating bioreactors."
Tissue Eng Part C Methods16p51-61(2010)

Hahn H, Müller M, Löwenheim H
"Whole organ culture of the postnatal sensory inner ear in simulated microgravity."
J Neurosci Methods171p60-71(2008)

Löwenheim H, Waldhaus J, Hirt B, Sandke S, Müller M
"[Regenerative medicine in the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss]."
HNO56p288-300(2008)

Müller M, von Hünerbein K, Hoidis S, Smolders JW
"A physiological place-frequency map of the cochlea in the CBA/J mouse."
Hear Res202p63-73(2005)

Löwenheim H, Hirt B
"[Aquaporine. Discovery, function, and significance for otorhinolaryngology]."
HNO52p673-8(2004)

Löwenheim H, Furness DN, Kil J, Zinn C, Gültig K, Fero ML, Frost D, Gummer AW, Roberts JM, Rubel EW, Hackney CM, Zenner HP
"Gene disruption of p27(Kip1) allows cell proliferation in the postnatal and adult organ of corti."
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A96p4084-8(1999)

Permanent Group Members

Hubert Löwenheim, Professor, Lab Head
Marcus Müller, Senior Scientist Phone 88088
Anke Tropitzsch, Research Scientist

Karina Gültig, Research Assistant Phone 88088
Andrea Müller, Research Assistant Phone 88088

Selection of Scientific Grants

Present grants:

2013-2017 :
Grant giving institution: EU FP7
Title: Human stem cell applications for the treatment of hearing loss. http://otostem.org

2012-2015 :
Grant giving institution: EU FP7
Title: Nanotechnology based cochlear implant with gapless interface to auditory neurons. http://nanoci.org/index.php

2011-2014 :
Grant giving institution: BMBF
Title: BioTransporter - Effizienter Wirkstofftransport in biologischen Systemen Verbundprojekt: OtoPep, Peptid-Nanomatrix als Träger für siRNA zur Behandlung von Erkrankungen des zentralen und sensorischen Nervensystems.

2008- :
Grant giving institution: BMBF Klinische Prüfung BEMED
Title: Durchführung einer klinischen Prüfung: „Therapie des M. Menière mit Betahistin: eine plazebo-kontrollierte Dosisfindungsstudie“ Studienzentrum Tübingen.

Selected recent previous grants:

2011-2012 :
Grant giving institution: Stiftung SET
Title: Entwicklung eines auf Stammzellen basierten Modells des Innenohres: In vitro Modell für die Prüfung von Medikamenten zur Behandlung von Innenohrerkrankungen als Ersatzmethode zum Tierversuch.

2010-2011 :
Grant giving institution: Universität Tübingen IZKF
Title: Untersuchung zur Regulation des Neuritenwachstums im Spiralganglion des Innenohres durch neurotrophe Faktoren.

2009-2010 :
Grant giving institution: Proteosys AG
Title: Otoprotektion in vitro.

2007-2009 :
Grant giving institution: Ministerium für Ernährung und ländlichen Raum, Baden-Württemberg
Title: Entwicklung einer Organkultur der Cochlea adulter Mäuse

2005-2008 :
Grant giving institution: Sanitätsamt der Bundeswehr
Title: Untersuchungen des akuten Lärmtraumas beim Meerschweinchen.

November 2006- April 2008 :
Grant giving institution: BMBF
Title: Axonale Regeneration im zentralen Nervensystem in einer aktiven Nanofasermatrix (in Zusammenarbeit mit der Klinik für Neurochirurgie und EMC micrcollections GmbH).

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