Pathogen / Host Cell Interations
We are working on different aspects of bacterial pathogen/host cell interactions, e.g. on deciphering the cross talk between pathogens and their host cells at the molecular level. Our work focusses on the exploitation of the host-cell actin cytoskeleton by microbial pathogens, since the actin system is one of the prime targets that facilitate pathogen invasion into cells and dissemination within and between infected cells and tissues. The work was initially focussing on Listeria monocytogenes and has recently been expanded to Shigella flexneri and pathogenic E. coli (EPEC and EHEC). Current work also involves different approaches, including proteomics and live cell imaging, to decipher signalling cascades within host cells during attachment and invasion processes by different bacterial pathogens. Together, these studies are enabling detailed insights not only into pathologic manifestations but also into fundamental cellular physiological processes.
Posttranslational Modifications of Tubulin
We are interested in the mechanisms of how cells control the diverse functions of microtubules and have been focussing on a particular reversible post-translational modification of tubulin, the detyrosination /tyrsination cycle of the alpha-subunit. Our laboratory (in collaboration with Didier Job, Grenoble, France) has provided detailed insights into this unique modification mechanism by an in depth analysis of one of the enzymes involved in the tyrosination cycle, the tubulin tyrosine ligase (TTL). By generating TTL deficient mice we were recently able to demonstrate a vital role of TTL for neuronal organisation.
