In October 2008, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) and the Dietmar Hopp Foundation teamed up to found the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM). The aim of this public-private partnership is to promote the use of results obtained in stem cell research for cancer medicine. The Dietmar Hopp Foundation, as a shareholder, initially contributed €7.5 million for a five-year period to the nonprofit HI-STEM institute. Another €5 million was contributed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) when the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region cluster “Cell-based and Molecular Medicine" won top regional ranking in the “Leading-Edge Cluster Competition" launched by the German government. In October 2012 Dietmar Hopp visited the DKFZ to gain an impression of the institute’s successful work and subsequently prolonged his support by another five years. As a result, the total sum invested by the Dietmar Hopp Foundation into HI-STEM will amount to €15 million for the years 2009-2018. The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), as the second shareholder, is contributing an equal amount and providing state-of-the-art laboratory rooms as well as an internationally competitive infrastructure for the innovative institute.
The mission of HI-STEM is to investigate cancer stem cells in detail, to develop innovative approaches for cancer diagnosis and treatment, and thus to increase the chances of survival for cancer patients. A special focus is placed on patients whose disease is in an advanced stage. “Our common goal is to offer effective therapies for people who are in a hopeless situation," says Hopp. “As a founder, I am very pleased with HI-STEM’s achievements so far. This led to our decision in 2012 to extend the collaboration to 10 years."
Professor Otmar D. Wiestler, Chairman of the Management Board and Scientific Director of DKFZ, actively brought stem cell research to the DKFZ. “Cancer cells and stem cells have amazing things in common. An important aim was therefore to recruit an internationally renowned stem cell researcher to the DKFZ. The success of HI-STEM impressively demonstrates that we made the right choice with the recruitment of Andreas Trumpp, who was working in Lausanne at the time."
Trumpp has led HI-STEM as Managing Director since its establishment, while also heading the Division of Stem Cells and Cancer at DKFZ. Yet another of Trumpp’s functions is to coordinate the program “Stem Cells in Oncology" in the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK). Since November 2013, he has additionally served as Acting President of the newly founded German Stem Cell Network (GSCN). “HI-STEM has developed in an excellent way over the past five years," says Trumpp. “In March 2009 we started out with only six scientists in an empty lab; since then we have grown continuously to achieve our present size of over 50 employees. We were able to recruit five highly talented young research group leaders from top international research institutes for HI-STEM, and have obtained important results that we have published in leading international journals. HI-STEM has already secured its first patent in stem cell technology; three more have been filed and are currently being reviewed."
The researchers of HI-STEM are focusing on so-called tumor stem cells, which are believed to be the origin of most tumors. Unlike the majority of tumor cells, tumor stem cells reside in protected niches and only rarely divide. Therefore, they are less sensitive to conventional cancer treatments and are often responsible for cancer recurrence and metastasis in the wake of treatments that initially appear successful. Trumpp and his co-workers discovered that they could activate dormant stem cells using various chemical messengers, making them susceptible to subsequent chemotherapy.
In addition, the HI-STEM team discovered metastasis-inducing stem cells in the blood of breast cancer patients. Since the number of such cells correlates with a patient’s chance of survival, the ability to detect them may enhance diagnostic methods. The scientists are now trying to inhibit the cells’ activity using new substances. In first talks, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry have shown strong interest in the approach.
Another of the scientists’ accomplishments has been the development of new biomarkers that can be used to classify patients with pancreatic cancer into several groups. This characterization is based on the fact that the tumors originate from different types of tumor stem cells and thus differ considerably in terms of their prognosis and response to therapy.
Finally, the scientists discovered how healthy blood stem cells undergo a transformation that turns them into leukemia-inducing tumor stem cells: The loss of a specific tumor suppressor gene in blood stem cells causes them to leave the bone marrow and migrate into the spleen, where they augment the production of leukemia cells.
Further research projects are addressing tumor stem cells from tumors of the kidney, ovaries, and lungs. The HI-STEM researchers are now collaborating with partners from Heidelberg University Hospital, the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and industry to investigate how this body of knowledge can be used to enhance methods of diagnosis and therapy.