Body Donation in HHT

HHT is also known as Osler's disease or Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. With a prevalence of 1 in 5,000 - 10,000 people, it is one of the relatively common rare diseases. In terms of molecular biology, affected individuals have a disorder of physiological angiogenesis, resulting in pathological vascular connections, so-called arteriovenous malformations. In principle, vascular changes in the context of HHT can affect all organ systems, but there are various predilection sites such as the skin and mucous membranes, liver, lungs, gastrointestinal tract and brain.

In preliminary work, we were able to show that in addition to the known mutations in the TGFβ signaling pathway, further trauma or previously unknown events must occur locally in order for the vascular short circuits to form. However, the exact disease mechanisms are still unclear. Obtaining human tissue samples is difficult due to ethical concerns (taking samples from living patients could lead to a worsening of the disease). The aim of this project is to analyze structural changes in tissue samples with and without vascular malformations.