Christian Hudert

Home Institution
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Host Institution
Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston

E-Mail:
chudert@gmx.net
Research Topic
see Abstract
Personal Reactions to the U.S. Experience
Since this was my first entry to the United States, many new impressions came to my mind. The script for this journey started at Washington D.C. airport in line with an expectant, vibrant crowd of non-US-citizens coming out of 747 Boeings arriving from the entire world.
The mixture of nationalities trying their luck in America still displays an important aspect of this country and contributes essentially to its propulsive and competitive culture. New York appears to be the epicentre of this idea and it is difficult not get the impression that in this city, truly, anything is possible.
Boston and Cambridge, divided by the Charles river, provide a unique, stimulating academic environment that attracts many international students and researchers. In my lab, most of the staff has been Asian and I experienced that the cultural differences we encountered have been quite prosperous in regard to a creative working atmosphere as well as to a personal development.
Greatest Difficulties Encountered
I had the great luck of experiencing an outstanding friendliness and support in my lab. Since the very beginning, I have been integrated in all the ongoing projects and have had the chance to learn experimental procedures and techniques that were new to me. I experienced 'the law of the apprentice': that most of them have to fail in the beginning. However, I understood the enthrilling dynamics of research, which is comprised in a quite unstable and thinly drawn line between an inebriant enthusiasm and cataclysmal frustration.
"The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact." - T.H. Huxley
Most humorous incident
On a freezing february evening, entering the shuttle bus home as usual, a kid wouldn't stop staring at me, suddenly asking "are you Peter Parker ?". Taken by surprise, I hear myself saying 'yes', which made him look out of the bus window for the rest of the drive. When he had to exit with his mother, he turned again towards me, asking once more "are you REALLY Peter Parker?" I replied with low voice 'it's me- but you have to keep this a secret!'. Immediately he tapped the man in front of him- pointing at me "THIS IS PETER PARKER!".

Helpful Hints for Future Students

  • Start your VISA application early on.
  • Open a Deutsche Bank account in Germany to withdraw from any Bank of America ATM free of charge. Get an american student checkings account (includes free credit card) to pay your rent. · See 'craigslist.org' for affordable housing.
  • Several wireless carriers offer prepaid SIM cards that work with european triband cell phones.
  • If you are going to stay in Boston, consider snowstorms when packing your luggage.
  • Cultivate your sense of humour during your stay.

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Abstract on Research Topic
Dextran Sodium Sulfate induced colitis in fat-1 transgenal mice

Author:
Christian Hudert

Institution:
Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Background:
Evidence has been raised in numerous in vitro, animal and clinical experiments suggesting diverse therapeutically relevant effects of n-3 fatty acids, including immunoregulatory, anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory as well as anti-tumor and anti-metastatic action. Currently, beneficial responses and preventive potential are discussed with respect to asthma, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, sudden cardiac death, cancer, and inflammatory bowel diseases.

A New Approach:
Transgenic fat-1 mice (Kang JX. et al. Nature 427, 504, 2004) offer a unique and innovative opportunity to get a clearer insight on the impact of the n-3 fatty acid treatment on IBD. Engineered to carry a fat-1 gene from the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans these mice can convert n-6 to n-3 fatty acids. This leads to a dramatic modification of the n-6/n-3 ratio compared to the wild-type mice even in the absence of dietary n-3 supplementation, presenting abundance of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C22:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6) in murine tissues. Objective: We will examine the extent of DSS induced colitis in the described fat-1 transgenic animal model thereby analysing for the first time the effect of an endogenously balanced ratio of n-6/n-3 on the mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease. DSS induced colitis shows diverse characteristics resembling human ulcerative colitis, including weight loss, severe diarrhea and rectal bleeding, superficial ulceration, mucosal damage, production of cytokines, and leukocyte infiltration.

Strategy:
First, we will determine the effective dose of dextrane sodium sulfate in wild-type mice (2.5/ 5/ 7.5%). Groups will be administered DSS (mol wt, 40 kDa; ICN Biomedicals, Aurora, OH) dissolved in drinking water for 7 days ad libitum. As a appropriate reaction we set up a body weight loss of 20 - 25%.

Experimental Procedure:
Having established the effective dose, the fat-1 and the wild-type group (each consisting of n=10 animals) will be maintained under the same conditions. Animals will be sacrified on day 6. The large bowel (from ileocecal junction to the anal verge) will be excised, measured, cut longitudinally along the main axis and then prepared for histological, MPO and cytokine analysis. During the experiment groups are monitored on body weight loss, diarrhea and rectal bleeding.