Mogler Lab - Vascular biology in health and disease
Our research interest is focused on vascular biology in health and disease with special but not exclusive focus on the liver. The liver is an important organ with essential functions and a specific anatomical architecture. Especially the vascular component represents a highly specialized compartment with a unique type of sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSCE) loosely covered by a layer of pericytes (hepatic stellate cells). Emerging evidence has been given in the last years that angiocrine signaling – molecules produced and secreted by blood vessel components - play a major role in regulating and orchestrating physiological and pathophysiological processes of the liver. In turn, endothelial reprogramming is induced by e.g. infiltrating tumors cells. Our group aims to identify such molecules and mechanisms to understand the biological processes behind endothelial cell and pericyte biology and the influence on their reprogramming in health and disease. Currently we focus on spatial transcriptomics and proteomics that allow us a detailed view on organ and tumor endothelial cells and pericytes and help to create a landscape on vascular changes induced by pathological conditions such as inflammation, tumor infiltration or therapy induced reprogramming e.g. induced by radiation.
We are also part of the collaborative research consortium 1366 “Vascular control of organ function” and Transregio 179 “Elimination vs. persistence of hepatitis virus infection”.
Our current research projects include:
- Identification of new angiocrine and angiogenic molecules in hepatic neoplasms (carcinomas and metastasis)
- Endothelial cell reprogramming by viral infections
- Phenoytping of tumor vasculature in sarcomas and its role in metastasis
- Impact of the vascular microenvironment on metastasis of head and neck tumors
- Impact of radiation on the vascular microenvironment in glioblastomas and cancer
- Impact of micro/nanoplastics on vascular biology
- Vascular and histopathological classification of rodent models for liver tumorigenesis to improve the reproducibility of histopathological results in biomedical research
Team
Dr. Margaret Tulessin (PostDoc)
Dr. Courtney König (PostDoc)
Dr. Michael Wührl (Resident)
Birthe Lemke (PhD candidate)
Annett Hering (technician)
Martin Betcher (MD candidate, CRC1366 stipendary)
Eva Daldrup (MD candidate, CRC1366 stipendary)
Raphaela Nußbaumer (MD candidate, TRR179 stipendary)
Current funding
Bavarian Center for Cancer Research, German Cancer Aid, German Cancer Consortium, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, German research foundation
Last publications
Detailed Characterization and Comparison of Mouse Models for Cholangiocarcinoma
Tulessin M, Beer L, Roessler S, Beckers A, Castven D, Calvisi DF, Chen X, Lange S, Pfarr N, Marquardt J, Wirtz TH, Berres ML, Steiger K, Groll T, Mogler C. Lab Invest. 2025 Sep 16;105(12):104242. doi: 10.1016/j.labinv.2025.104242
Vascular neoplasms of the liver
Keil F, Metzler T, Thomann S, Albrecht T, Mogler C. Pathologie (Heidelb). 2025 Nov;46(6):364-372. doi: 10.1007/s00292-025-01468-0.
Röttele F*, Zollner A*, Mogler C*, Yuksel M, Arikan C, Karl V, Aberle JH, Aberle SW, Kogler H, Vécsei A, Vodopiutz J, Salié H, Gräser A, Krimmel L, Martin P, Lurz E, Maier FI, Woelfle L, Nobre S, Goncalves I, Kern L, Schwemmle M, Boettler T, Hofmann M, Hasselblatt P, Thimme R, Tilg H, Müller T, Vogel GF, Bengsch B. Gut. 2025 Aug 7;74(9):1486-1499. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2024-333880.
The spatial zonation of the murine placental vasculature is specified by epigenetic mechanisms
Gehrs S, Jakab M, Gutjahr E, Gu Z, Weichenhan D, Mallm JP, Mogler C, Schlesner M, Plass C, Schlereth K, Augustin HG. Dev Cell. 2025 May 19;60(10):1467-1482.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.12.037. Epub 2025 Jan 14. PMID: 39814015
A liver immune rheostat regulates CD8 T cell immunity in chronic HBV infection.
Bosch M, Kallin N, Donakonda S, Zhang JD, Wintersteller H, Hegenbarth S, Heim K, Ramirez C, Fürst A, Lattouf EI, Feuerherd M, Chattopadhyay S, Kumpesa N, Griesser V, Hoflack JC, Siebourg-Polster J, Mogler C, Swadling L, Pallett LJ, Meiser P, Manske K, de Almeida GP, Kosinska AD, Sandu I, Schneider A, Steinbacher V, Teng Y, Schnabel J, Theis F, Gehring AJ, Boonstra A, Janssen HLA, Vandenbosch M, Cuypers E, Öllinger R, Engleitner T, Rad R, Steiger K, Oxenius A, Lo WL, Klepsch V, Baier G, Holzmann B, Maini MK, Heeren R, Murray PJ, Thimme R, Herrmann C, Protzer U, Böttcher JP, Zehn D, Wohlleber D, Lauer GM, Hofmann M, Luangsay S, Knolle PA. Nature. 2024 Jul;631(8022):867-875. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07630-7.
Trogisch FA, Abouissa A, Keles M, Birke A, Fuhrmann M, Dittrich GM, Weinzierl N, Wink E, Cordero J, Elsherbiny A, Martin-Garrido A, Grein S, Hemanna S, Hofmann E, Nicin L, Bibli SI, Airik R, Kispert A, Kist R, Quanchao S, Kürschner SW, Winkler M, Gretz N, Mogler C, Korff T, Koch PS, Dimmeler S, Dobreva G, Heineke J. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Feb 28;16(736):eabq4581. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq4581
Immunologic landscape of human hepatic hemangiomas and epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas
Thomann S, Metzler T, Tóth M, Schirmacher P, Mogler C. Hepatol Commun. 2024 Jan 11;8(1):e0359. doi: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000359.