Key research :
- Regulation of ORAI and STIM by posttranslational mechanisms
- Regulation of immune cell Ca2+ channel function under pathological conditions such as oxidative stress and multiple sclerosis
- Role of the cellular redox state in the regulation of ion channel function
Calcium ions are universal second messengers, involved in signalling pathways ranging from exocytosis, sensory signalling, transcription factor activation, proliferation amongst others. Changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration thus must be finely tuned both in time and space to ensure specificity of signalling cascades.
We are interested in the regulation of calcium selective ion channels on a molecular and cell physiological level. Immune cells are tightly regulated by changes in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Their major influx pathway is through ORAI proteins in the plasma membrane which are directly activated by interaction with the ER Ca2+-sensor, STIM1, upon ER Ca2+ depletion. We want to investigate how ORAI and STIM proteins are regulated on a molecular level, by their environment and by other intracellular signalling cascades in primary T cells from healthy donors and understand how and if Ca2+ signalling is affected in primary cells from patients with immune disorders.
Our methods include molecular biology, biochemistry, Ca2+ imaging analysis, electrophysiology (patch-clamp) and high resolution microscopy (live cell imaging, TIRF).
The group includes postdocs, PhD students, Masters - and Bachelor students.
see also http://sfb894.uni-saarland.de/SFB894/Teilprojekt_A2.html