Cell-cell communication (CCC) orchestrates organismal development, homeostasis and tissue function. Dynamic and adaptable intercellular communication is particularly relevant during immune to non-immune cell crosstalk to protect against pathogens and malignant cells. However, dysfunctional or exacerbated CCC can lead to diseases such as chronic inflammation, autoimmunity and cancer. Thus, the identification and quantification of communication networks and cellular crosstalk in health, disease developemnt and during therapy is of interest across diverse disciplines. During CCC, signalling events are often mediated by interactions of various types of proteins, but also by non-peptide molecules and metabolites. Irrespective of the message sent, the effects in receiving cells strongly depend on their current state, but also on their surroundings. It is therefore fundamental to characterize the role of cells in their microenvironment to understand the directionality, magnitude and biological relevance of CCC and to eventually influence it for patient benefit.

In recent years, an immense plethora of novel techniques and animal models have emerged to study CCC. This includes approaches to visualize tissue heterogeneity, single-cell analyses, co-culturing and in vivo modeling of cellular interaction. These emerging technologies are capable of revealing data on the physical characteristics of cells, differences in the genome or transcriptome between cell types, and variations in proportion and activation of distinct cell subpopulations. Moreover, new in vitro or ex vivo model systems facilitate studying direct cell–cell interactions and cell signaling. They thereby contribute to the elucidation of diverse aspects of CCC. The efficient integration of these multi-disciplinary methodologies and tools will be crucial to further expand our knowledge and eventually use this for therapeutic purposes.

Our workshop is therefore aimed to provide an opportunity for researchers to present and discuss their scientific research relevant to the utilization of techniques and technologies for studying CCC. We envision that participants gain deeper insights into the different aspects and possibilities that can be used to study CCC and use it in their own research.

Invited participants of the roundtable discussions: Matteo Bergami - Andreas Beyer - Jens Brüning - Sabine Eming - Axel Hillmer - Michael Hölzel - Marcus Krüger - Phuong-Hien Nguyen - Carien Niessen - Henning Walczak - Thomas Wunderlich