research focus

I have always been interested in the function of Thioredoxin family proteins in physiological signal transduction and regulation of cellular processes with a strong focus on the innate immunity. These oxidoreductases regulate the redox state of thiols and thereby alter structure, protein-interaction, localisation and function of proteins. It is widely accepted that redox regulation is essential for cellular functions, such as cytoskeletal dynamics, proliferation, differentiation, migration, gene expression, cell death, metabolism and inflammation. Dysregulation of redox signaling, also known as oxidative disstress, has been linked to different pathologies including inflammatory diseases.

The overall aim is to generate more knowledge on the microenvironment of cells and the concept of extracellular redox control:

i) how and when are (redox) proteins released?

ii) what are their specific targets and which signaling pathways are involved (receptors, modifications such as thiol switches)?

iii) what is the functional and clinical impact on specific immune cell populations such as macrophages and neutrophils?

I have recently joined the research group of Prof. Brandau that is working in the exciting field of immuno-oncology. For me it is the next step of understanding how the microenvironment and the release of specific biomolecules affects cell communication in the context of cancer.

Humans are composed of many different, specialized cells that form organs and structures of the body. The same is true for animals and plants. Cells in turn are very small and they have different shapes and functions. They contain so called compartments that are smaller units with specialized functions, such as processing nutrients and chemicals, energy generation, transport processes and production of biomolecules such as proteins.

Proteins fulfill different functions. Structural proteins for instance are important to construct and form specific structures. An example is the sceleton of a cell that is responsible for its unique shape. Receptor proteins on the surface of the cells can control what enters and leaves the cells, they can interact with other receptor proteins of other cells and send signals to the inside of the cell. Transport and storage proteins can bind other molecules for instance oxygen or iron and guarantee their delivery to places where they are needed or stored until they are needed. Enzymes are important for instance in cell metabolism converting different components of our food into smaller molecules. All of these functions need to be regulated. One way is by attaching and deattaching small molecules to these proteins. Thereby the activity of a proteins can be switched on when needed and switched off when not needed.

I have always been interested in on Thioredoxin proteins, enzymes that regulate the function of other proteins via these switches. They are important for many processes in and also outside of cells. They regulate different kinds of proteins and thereby control for instance cell shape, cell movement and metabolism. To fulfill these different functions, they can shuttle between different compartments of the cell and they are also released to the extracellular space. Thioredoxin proteins are teamplayers. They act in a network of proteins. In the presence of a particular signal, for instance the presence or lack of oxygen and/or nutrients, they get activated and in turn activate or deactivate another protein that in turn acts on another protein until it reaches the last protein of this cascade. This so called effector protein induces the biological response. We call this cell signaling. Dysregulation of cell signaling has been linked to different diseases and pathologies.