CRC/TR 412 MASLD
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease:
Translating mechanisms to tailored therapeutic concepts
Duration of the project: October 2025 - June 2029
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, affecting a staggering 30% of the general population. MASLD is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome, and its prevalence is expected to increase with an aging and more obese population. MASLD is a major contributor to life-threatening complications such as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, with hepatic fibrosis being the key determinant of disease progression. While interventions targeting underlying metabolic risk factors like obesity and insulin resistance, primarily through weight loss, have shown some effectiveness, weight-lowering drugs such as semaglutide offer limited benefit for liver fibrosis. Liver-targeted pharmacotherapies have largely failed to yield promising results.
To address the pressing demand for effective treatments for MASLD, the CRC/TR seeks to overcome previous limitations in MASLD research and provide a fresh look to MASLD pathogenesis and therapeutic approaches.
The CRC/TR 412 MASLD is a DFG funded collaborative research centre (CRC) / Transregio (TR) between Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and TU Dresden, coordinated by Charité.
Spokesperson for the CRC:
Prof. Dr. med Frank Tacke (Department of Hepatology & Gastroenterology, Charité)
Deputy Speaker and Spokesperson of the Dresden site:
Prof. Dr. med Jochen Hampe (Medical Department 1, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, TU Dresden)
Prof. Roland Eils is leading with Dr. Andreas Dahl (TU Dresden) the Project Z02:
Genomics, analysis and data management.
