Inhalt
Institute for Genetics
Zülpicher Str. 47a, 50674 Cologne
Prof. Dr. Jens Claus Brüning (Molecular Medicine)
The group works on different projects aiming to characterize signaling pathways responsible for the regulation of energy and glucose homeostasis. The experimental approach focuses on the generation and characterization of mouse models with targeted disruption of genes in the leptin, insulin and cytokine signaling pathways. Particularly, the experiments are based on the establishment of conditional mutants with cell type-specific and/or timely controlled disruption of signaling molecules
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Dohmen (Cell Biology)
We are interested in the mechanisms and principles of selective proteolysis in eukaryotic cells. As a model system in our studies we employ the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the first eukaryote for which the sequence of the entire genome has become available. High metabolic instability is characteristic for abnormal and defective proteins, but also for many regulatory proteins, prime examples being cyclins and Cdk inhibitors. Substrate proteins that are destined for degradation by a complex protease, termed the proteasome, are marked by conjugation to a chain of ubiquitin, a small protein present in all eukaryotic cells. We are interested in the nature of the degradation signals and their recognition that result in ubiquitylation and subsequent degradation by the proteasome.
Dr. Niels Gehring (Cellular Quality Control)
Mammalian gene expression starts off in the nucleus with the transcription of the primary transcript, the precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA). The pre-mRNA then has to undergo several steps of processing before the mature, completely and correctly processed mRNA is exported to the cytoplasm, where it serves as template for protein biosynthesis. During processing of pre-mRNAs in the nucleus, the spliceosome loads the EJC (exon-junction complex) onto processed mRNAs. The exon junction complex plays a decisive role in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), a cellular quality control mechanism eliminating nonsense-mutated mRNAs.
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hoppe (Development and Aging)
The main interest of the group is based on developmental processes in multicellular organisms that are governed by ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis (using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model). Besides the already known E1, E2, and E3 enzymes required for ubiquitin-conjugation, additional modulators involved in substrate recruitment and polyubiquitin chain assembly have been identified. Our current research addresses the molecular mechanism of polyubiquitin chain assembly on protein substrates in physiologically relevant pathways. Including protein aggregation diseases, the lab is interested in the general interplay between protein homeostasis and aging/longevity.
Prof. Dr. Jonathan C. Howard (Immunology)
It is becoming increasingly clear that cell-autonomous resistance mechanisms exist that tend to counteract the replication and survival of intracellular pathogens. These resistance programs are not restricted to cells of the classical immune system like B-cells, T-cells or macrophages but are potentially active in every body cell. Such mechanisms are normally latent in uninfected or unstimulated cells but are activated by cytokines and especially interferons. Interferons are produced upon infection and are subdivided into type I and type II interferons. Type I interferons are secreted by virus infected cells while secretion of type II interferon, also called interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), is restricted to T-cells, NK-cells and macrophages. The two classes of interferons induce an extraordinarily complex cellular response regulating the expression of several hundred genes.
Prof. Dr. Sigrun Korsching (Genetics of Nervous Systems)
Smell is an ancient and complex sense essential for food detection, prey and predator recognition, reproduction and other intraspecies communication. Tens of thousands of different chemicals can be detected and distinguished by the olfactory system. Several olfactory receptor gene families, both small and large ones, contribute to the detection of odors. The basic logic of olfactory perception involves monogenic expression (a particular receptor neuron expresses only a single olfactory receptor gene) and combinatorial coding (one receptor - several odors and one odor - several receptors). Chemotopic maps are a prominent feature of odor representation in the olfactory brain, especially the olfactory bulb.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Langer (Cell Biology)
Mitochondria are dynamic cell organelles with essential catabolic and anabolic functions and critical roles in cell death pathways. Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to ageing and acts causally in the pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative disorders. The group analyses the conserved proteolytic system of these organelles which ensures the quality control of mitochondrial proteins and regulates key steps during mitochondrial biogenesis.
Dr. Michael Lammers
The cytoskeleton has been in the center of scientific interest for many years now. It contains hundreds of accessory proteins and is essential for the major events in a living cell: apoptosis, cell shape, transport processes, cell migration, wound healing, replication, cell differentiation, and cell signaling. The complexity of the cytoskeleton is immense and therefore cytoskeleton research is still of highest importance.
Prof. Dr. Maria Leptin (Developmental Biology)
The group works on two separate research areas:
- Cell and developmental biology (using Drosophila)
- Genetics of pathogen resistance (using the zebrafish)
Prof. Dr. Manolis Pasparakis (Immunology)
The group focuses on studying the role of inflammation in disease pathogenesis. Inflammatory responses are regulated by intracellular signalling cascades, such as the NF-kB and MAP kinase pathways, that are activated downstream of cytokine receptors (e.g. TNFR, IL-1R) or innate immune receptors (e.g. Toll-like receptors, NOD-like receptors).
Dr. Gerrit Praefcke
Prof. Dr. Karin Schnetz (Bacterial Genetics)
The group studies mechanisms of regulation by the histone-like nucleoid-structuring protein H-NS in commensal and pathogenic Escherichia coli. Specifically we focus on the interdependence of repression by H-NS and the rate of transcription, and on mechanisms of de-repression. In addition, we follow up on the evolutionary fate of specific loci which were acquired by horizontal gene transfer and which are repressed by H-NS.
Dr. Björn Schumacher (DNA Damage and Aging)
The group investigates the molecular mechanism of aging. Aging is strongly correlated with a host of human pathologies, most prominently cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as general functional decline. It is, therefore, of outstanding interest to further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying human aging.
Dr. Mirka Uhlirova (Cell Homeostasis)
The main interest of our lab is to understand how these pathways cooperate to maintain cell and tissue homeostasis throughout normal development, under stress conditions and how their function can be derailed during diseases such as cancer. To address these questions we take advantage of the wide range of genetic, molecular and genomic techniques available in Drosophila melanogaster.
