Key research :
- Regulation of ORAI and STIM by posttranslational mechanisms
- Regulation of immune cell Ca2+ channel function under pathological conditions such as oxidative stress, multiple sclerosis and neurodegeneration
- Role of the cellular redox state in the regulation of ion channel function
- Counting ion channel subunits
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 and tohether with Prof. de Jonge, INM, electron microscopy).
The group includes postdocs, PhD students, Masters - and Bachelor students.
Please inquire for potential open positions.
see also http://sfb894.uni-saarland.de/SFB894/Teilprojekt_A2.html
