Sixteen scientists, nine nationalities, nine different research facilities, one topic: the Hippo Pathway in Sports. The Department of Sports Biology has organized a top-class meeting at the Academic Center of the Technische Universität München (TUM) in Raitenhaslach. Participants came from King's College London, the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Stockholm Karolinska Institute and the Helmholtz Center of Munich. The meeting was also financed by funds from the TUM Global Incentive Fund.
Research findings and suggestions for future projects
"The theme of the meeting was the role of so-called hippo proteins in the adaptation to sport, currently our main research topic, in which we exchanged research results and suggestions for future research with international experts," explains Prof. Dr. Henning Wackerhage, a full professor at the Department of Sports Biology.
Hippo proteins regulate cell numbers, the size of organs and also aspects of the metabolism. A number of years ago, a team under Prof. Wackerhage was able to demonstrate that hippo proteins play an important role in the development of musculature, the function of muscle stem cells and the development of muscle cancer (rhabdomyosarcoma). However, these proteins also react to many signals that trigger adaptations to strength or endurance training. Therefore, it is assumed that hippo proteins also regulate adaptations in sports.
"We want to do this research now with our partners. The meeting was a great way to nurture these partnerships, to discuss the issues that we face in the field of sports sciences. In addition, sharing the experiences of international scientists with our team was very enlightening and educational, for instance in terms of the way in which these colleagues prepare and design their research - from the idea, to the realization and then to the exploitation of the results," Prof. Wackerhage notes.
The fact that the staff of the Department of Sports Biology is by no means only theoretically concerned with their subject is illustrated by the supporting program. Before the meal, the participants went for a run of about one hour along the Salzach.
Research trip to the Medical College of Wisconsin
Already in October, Wackerhage and his co-worker Dr. Martin Schönfelder will meet with one of the guests once again. "We will travel to the Medical College of Wisconsin for two weeks to see Prof. Brian Link," explains Schönfelder. "The facility has one of the best-equipped biochemical research labs in the world, and we can carry out various studies," Wackerhage adds. "In this context we would like to explore the function of the hippo pathway with the aid of so-called reporter organisms," says Schönfelder.
To the Homepage of the Department of Sports Biology
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Henning Wackerhage
Department of Sports Biology
Uptown Munich, Campus D
Georg-Brauchle Ring 60/62
80992 Munich
E-Mail: Henning.Wackerhage(at)tum.de
Telephone: 089 289 24480
Text: Fabian Kautz
Photo: Dr. Martin Schönfelder