Publications

Paper:

A. Nörenberg et al. (Mutation Research 758 (2013) 69– 79)

OPTIMIZATION OF THE METABOLICALLY COMPETENT AND PROLIFERATING HUMAN UPCYTE^® HEPATOCYTES FOR THE IN VITRO MICRONUCLEI ASSAY Astrid Nörenberg¹, Stefan Heinz¹, Katharina Scheller¹, Nicola J. Hewitt¹, Joris Braspenning¹, Michael Ott²

1 Medicyte GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany;

2 MHH Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany

- in progress -

GENERATION AND CHARACTERISATION OF PROLIFERATING HUMAN LIVER SINUSOIDAL ENDOTHELIAL CELLS USING UPCYTE^® TECHNOLOGY

Astrid Nörenberg¹, Stefan Heinz¹, Aernout Lutton², Joris Braspenning¹, Bard Smedsrod³, and Cristina Oie³

1 Medicyte GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany,

2 Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centr. Molecul. en Vascul. Biologie, Leuven, Belgium,

3 University of Tromso, Vascular Biology Research Group, Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Tromso, Norway

Patent:

GEEIGNETE HEPATOZYTEN FÜR IN-VITRO GENOTOXIZITÄTSTESTS

Abstract: Die Erfindung betrifft ein Verfahren zur Durchführung von Genotoxi (zi) tätstests von chemischen, biologischen und physikalischen Wirkstoffen bzw. Agenzien mit Hilfe von Zellkultursystemen proliferierender physiologisch aktiver Leberzellen.

Application Number: PCT/EP2011/067295 Publication Date: 2012-04-12

Inventor: Braspenning Adrianus Joris, Heinz Stefan, Nörenberg Astrid, Hewitt Nicola, Küpper Jan Heiner

7.6 Declaration of Independent Work

Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die Dissertation “Generation of proliferating hepatocytes, liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and stellate cells and establishment of a genotoxicity assay based on proliferating hepatocytes.” selbstständig verfasst habe. Bei der Anfertigung wurden folgende Hilfe Dritter in Anspruch genommen: Dr. Nicola J.

Hewitt und Dr. Stefan Heinz als Betreuer der Arbeit innerhalb der Firma Medicyte Heidelberg.

Ich habe keine entgeltliche Hilfe von Vermittlungs- bzw. Beratungsdiensten (Promotionsberater oder anderer Personen) in Anspruch genommen. Niemand hat von mir unmittelbar oder mittelbar entgeltliche Leistungen für Arbeiten erhalten, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Inhalt der vorgelegten Dissertation stehen. Ich habe die Dissertation an folgender Institution angefertigt: Medicyte GmbH (Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120 Heidelberg).

Die Dissertation wurde bisher nicht für eine Prüfung oder Promotion oder für einen ähnlichen Zweck zur Beurteilung eingereicht. (Ist die Dissertation in einer auswärtigen Institution angefertigt worden, so ist zugleich eine Erklärung der betr.

Leiterin oder des Leiters beizufügen, dass sie oder er mit der Einreichung der Arbeit als Dissertation an der Medizinischen Hochschule einverstanden ist.) Ich versichere, dass ich die vorstehenden Angaben nach bestem Wissen vollständig und der Wahrheit entsprechend gemacht habe.

___________________ ___________________

Ort & Datum Astrid Nörenberg

7.7 Acknowledgement

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Professor Michael Ott from the Medical University in Hannover, which has been a great supervisor in those 3 years. Thank you for fighting for my entrance, the freedom of arranging time and resources by myself, the guidance and help and open mind along the way.

I want to thank my bosses Joris Braspenning and Stefan Holder for giving me the opportunity to perform this thesis at Medicyte. Thank you for the possibilities, not just in the lab but also in the real world by visiting congresses and meeting a lot of interesting people.

Now I come to you Nicky and Stefan, my marvellous supervisors at Medicyte. Thank you Stefan for just being one of the nicest guys I ever met, even though I don’t even know how you set one foot in front of the other with your chaotic mind. The world needs more people like you. Nicky, you are my personal scientific hero. If I wouldn't have to work I would just freeze with respect and crawl on my knees every time I see you. Thanks for your guidance and for sharing the same crappy humour as me.

And of course there are other people at Medicyte I have to thank: Steffi, thanks for being the good soul of the company and taking care of everybody. Thanks for refining my cursing abilities; they reached a higher level because of you. Nadja, thanks for your guidance through fairyland and the enchanted forest and lovely lunch dates. Birgit, thanks for trying to make me fat with feeding all the sweets and sharing an office with me. Without you three the grapevine would never have worked as it did. Marion, thx for being my mentor at all the SM stuff, you gave me a better insight into so many things. Of course I'm thanking the rest of the nerd herd at Medicyte for helping me (or....not). Last is Kathi, although you dared to leave me alone (wise girl); I had the best lab time with you. Work is just not the same without you!

I would like to thank the HeMiBio team as well: Sebastian, Mar, Yishai and Gahl. It was a pleasure working with you and the meetings were so much fun with you guys. Special thanks go to Cristina, I will never forget my Norway visit!

I would like to thanks Steffen, Klaus and Jens at the FACS Core Facility at the DKFZ for using their machine and the patience helping me with my protocol. Thanks for all the coffee you brought me and keeping me awake during the long hours of sitting in the dark.

Of course life would be nothing without my awesome friends, I'm grateful to have so many loyal & honest people around me. A big thanks also goes out to my trainer and my gym, you definitively are a big part of keeping my inner balance. And of course my always-being-there-roommate: you are the best roomy someone could wish for. Now it feels like home.

A special thanks to my lovely liver cells, that had to die within my experiments, you died for the greater good. I hope drawing stars and hearts on the culture dishes made you feel loved and less scared.

And the last and biggest thanks go out to my parents, my brother and my man. Thank you my beloved mum and dad for being the most marvellous and supporting parents in the world.

Nothing would have been possible without you. Thank you brother for all the smart advice only a big brother can give. And my men for being there, loving and supporting me, thank god you are not a scientist!

No rest for the wicked!