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News
Erasmus+ Trainee Vladyslava Ponomarchuk begins a summer lab rotation
Vladyslava comes from the Ukraine and is currently studying for a Bachelor in Molecular Biology at the University of Wroclaw in Poland. She is taking the opportunity to expand her technical skills and research experience in our lab by investigating the role of ABC transporters in lysosomes in cadmium toxicity in renal cells. During her two month rotation, Vlady will learn mammalian cell culture, qPCR, organelle isolation and Western blotting.
Ласкаво просимо (welcome) Vlady!
AG9 went to CanBIC-8
The 8th Georgian Bay conference on Bioinorganic Chemistry took place from 23rd to 27th May 2023 at the beautiful Charles Stockey center in Parry Sound (pictured). Wing-Kee Lee and Frank Thévenod were invited by Professor Andrea Hartwig (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) to present their latest research on cellular cadmium effects as part of the symposium on “Biological aspects of toxic metals”.
Wing-Kee presented a current project examining cadmium and cardiolipin interaction in mitochondrial dysfunction. Frank presented data concerning cadmium effects on hypoxia-inducible factor in the kidney. It was also a great opportunity to meet with our cooperation partners from the University of Calgary.
For the full programme, see here (http://canbic.ca/index.html).
alle News
Our team is complete!
Please welcome Daniel and guest professor Prof. Dr. Frank Thévenod.
Our first Master student completes her lab rotation
It has been a pleasure to work with Johanna Alm (M.Sc. Interdisciplinary Biomedicine) who learned how to culture renal cells from different nephron segments, how to grow them in transwell inserts and how to perform qPCR. She screened for the expression of sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes, which could contribute to the specific functions of the nephron. Good luck for your future endeavours, Johanna!
First exploratory workshop at the University of Calgary
Together with our collaboration partner Professor Elmar Prenner and other research scientists from the University of Calgary and Witten/Herdecke University, the first DFG-funded exploratory workshop on metal toxicity saw exciting presentations about membrane lipids, cells, kidney, zebrafish, bacteria and human populations. This was followed by intensive discussions and connecting through our common research interests. See the program here.
New paper published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry
Read our latest research publication about ceramide synthases, ABCB1 and multidrug resistance!
Follow the link https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101492 . This paper took about 5 years and incorporates efforts from technicians, international undergraduate students and collaborators from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Medical University of South Carolina. Happy reading!Symposium
Symposium at the 100th Annual Meeting of the German Physiological Society in conjunction with The Austrian Physiological Society and Life Sciences Switzerland Physiology
Program information and registration on https://www.dpg2021.de/
We hope to see you there!
When the incompatible function as one: Interaction of lipids and membrane-spanning proteins in biological membranes
Membrane proteins are indispensable for correct cell functioning. Biological membranes contain hundreds of different proteins and lipids in an asymmetric arrangement. Beside their structural and anchorage roles, it is becoming increasingly evident that lipids can actively govern a protein’s localization, regulate its activity and trafficking through formation of a unique lipid shell, giving rise to a specific pattern of lipid-protein interactions, a so-called “fingerprint” for membrane proteins. Thus, as membrane lipid composition adjusts during the course of physiological process and cell responses, such as signal transduction, altered lipid metabolism or (epi)genetic modifications, lipid-protein contact points as well as bilayer biophysical properties are altered, impacting protein functioning in the vicinity and beyond.
Professor Thomas Baukrowitz
Physiological Institute, Kiel University
"Force from Lipids in Mechano-Sensitive K+ Channels"
Professor Jens Brüning
Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne
“CNS-Dependent Control of Metabolism”
Professor Elina Ikonen (tentatively confirmed)
Department of Anatomy, Lipid Trafficking Lab, University of Helsinki
“Principles of Cellular Lipid Delivery Unraveled by Rapid Protein Perturbation”
Professor Wing-Kee Lee
Physiology and Pathophysiology of Cells and Membranes, Bielefeld University
“Sphingolipids and ABCB1 in Cancer Multidrug Resistance”
Professor Erich Gulbins
Institute for Molecular Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen
“Regulation of Cell Functions by Ceramide-Beta-1 Integrin Interactions”