Biozentrum Basel http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/ News en Biozentrum Basel http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/fileadmin/tt_news_article.gif http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/ News TYPO3 - get.content.right http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:55:00 +0200 Blueprint for blood vessel fusion discovered http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/blueprint-for-blood-vessel-fusion-discovered/ The fusion of blood vessels during the formation of the vascular system follows a uniform process.... First fusion, then splitting The scientists showed that the generation of new blood vessels is based on an underlying uniform architectural plan. All forms of blood vessels that develop via sprouting make connections according to this blueprint. During the formation process, the tip cells of both blood vessels split after they have built the connection.

Transformation makes the point of fusion indiscernible

Furthermore, the team of scientists observed that the cells are subsequently rearranged so that each tip cell becomes part of a normal blood vessel. These cells can then no longer be distinguished from the other blood vessel cells. „It is practically not possible to identify the fusion site after the fusion process has been completed, „ explained Affolter. „The former tip cells can now fulfil all the functions of a blood vessel cell and are thus multifunctionally used.“ The research group was also able to show that the molecule VE-cadherin gives a signal to the blood vessel indicating that a contact between two tip cells has been successful, thereby completing the contact phase.

The zebrafish is a suitable model organism for such investigations. The developing embryo is almost transparent, which makes it possible to closely observe blood vessel generation within the living animal. It is the first time that such a cell splitting process and the transformation of the architecture of a blood vessel could be demonstrated during the formation of new vessel connections in a closed vascular system. Markus Affolter`s group would now like to more closely investigate in living zebrafish, how blood vessel tip cells recognize each other and connect, which additional molecules control the fusion process and how tumors in an organism attach to the already existing circulation. Original article:
Anna Lenard, Elin Ellertsdottir, Lukas Herwig, Alice Krudewig, Loic Sauteur, Heinz-Georg Belting, and Markus Affolter (2013): In Vivo Analysis Reveals A Highly Stereotypic Morphogenetic Pathway of Vascular Anastomosis. Developmental Cell; Published online June 10, 2013. Contact: Communications, Heike Sacher]]> Related to Prof. Markus Affolter Home (3 Column) Bionews Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:47:00 +0200 Michael N. Hall elected SAMS Member http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/michael-n-hall-elected-sams-member/ The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) has honored Prof. Michael N. Hall from the Biozentrum... Contact: Communications, Katrin Bühler]]> Home (3 Column) Bionews Related to Prof. Michael Hall Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:04:00 +0200 EMBO Memberships for Christoph Dehio and Peter Scheiffele http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/embo-memberships-for-peter-scheiffele-and-christoph-dehio/ Prof. Christoph Dehio and Prof. Peter Scheiffele from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel... EMBO Member - Christoph Dehio Christoph Dehio is Professor for Infection Biology at the Biozentrum since 2000. In 2006, he was awarded the Senior Scientist Prize of the German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology and from 2005 to 2010 was an «International Research Scholar» of the renowned Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Since 2010, he is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina. Dehio investigates the type IV secretion systems of pathogenic bacteria. With this apparatus, the pathogens inject effector proteins into host cells to selectively alter cellular functions. This favors pathogen persistence in the host resulting in chronic infection. With a systems biology approach, Dehio studies the pathogen-host interactions at the molecular level, providing the basis for the development of novel anti-infective agents.

EMBO Member - Peter Scheiffele

The neurobiologist Peter Scheiffele was appointed as Professor at the Biozentrum in 2008. For his research, he received several awards, including the «Searle Scholar Award» in 2002 and in 2004 the «John Merck Scholar Award».  Scheiffele investigates the mechanisms of formation and elimination of neuronal connections - the synapses. He discovered critical functions of synaptic adhesion complexes in synapse formation during brain development. His findings also contribute to the understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders and his laboratory is developing novel mechanism-based interventions for autism. Contact: Communications, Katrin Bühler]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Christoph Dehio Related to Prof. Peter Scheiffele Wed, 22 May 2013 09:25:00 +0200 Become a Marathon Runner with the Protein PGC-1α http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/become-a-marathon-runner-with-the-protein-pgc-1a/ Even with a greater muscle mass, a sprinter cannot win a marathon. His specially-trained and... Marathon runners complete a special training program to improve their endurance capacity. Accordingly, their muscles are able to sustain the provision of energy using aerobic, hence oxygen consuming processes. Untrained athletes and also bodybuilders reach however, in a much earlier stage, a condition where their muscles produce energy without oxygen. This results in the production of lactate in the muscles. At the same time, the muscles begin to fatigue and the legs become heavy.

Less Lactate with Endurance Training

The reason for this difference: the muscles switch their metabolism during endurance training. Importantly, amongst others, the production of the protein PGC-1α is stimulated. Mice with a permanently increased PGC-1α develop the same high endurance muscles as those in trained athletes. Handschin and his team were now able to show in these mice that PGC-1α prevents the formation and accumulation of lactate in the muscles. For this, the researchers have had to train the mice for an hour on the treadmill. After a few minutes, the lactic acid rates increased in the untrained mice, followed by performance degradation and exhaustion. Mice with a high PGC-1α, however, maintained their performance levels until the end of the training. Their lactate levels remained low despite a high training load. "As it turned out," said Handschin "PGC-1α changed the composition of an enzyme complex. This reduced the formation of lactate. Also, the remaining lactate in the muscle is converted and used immediately as energy substrate."

Sport Therapy for Diabetics

Also in human skeletal muscle, PGC-1α controls the balance between the formation and degradation of lactate. Disturbances in lactate metabolism are common in obese and diabetic patients. The stimulation of PGC-1α production by endurance exercise activity is therefore an important approach to improve the metabolism in these patients. This could help prevent the resulting damage and progressive physical limitations to the body caused by metabolic diseases.

Original article:

Serge Summermatter, Gesa Santos, Joaquín Pérez-Schindler, and Christoph Handschin (2013). Skeletal muscle PGC-1α controls whole-body lactate homeostasis through estrogen-related receptor α-dependent activation of LDH B and repression of LDH A. PNAS; Published online May 6, 2013 Contact: Communications, Katrin Bühler]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Christoph Handschin Wed, 08 May 2013 20:27:00 +0200 Cleaning service out-of-order – Muscle weakness results http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/cleaning-service-out-of-order-muscle-weakness-results/ The protein complex mTORC1 promotes muscle growth. However, should this complex remain constantly... Muscle weakness due to overactive growth regulator Until recently, it was assumed that the protein complex mTORC1 in the skeletal muscle plays a key role in growth regulation but not in the process of autophagy. Rüegg and his team of scientists have been able to refute this widely accepted assumption. In the current study, they investigated the cellular processes in skeletal muscle of mice, in which mTORC1 was permanently activated. Particularly in aging mice, the scientists observed a progressive myopathy, which could be ascribed to impaired autophagy. Interestingly, the researchers could reverse the symptoms by administering rapamycin. The muscle function of the mice returned to normal. Rapamycin is a substance that inhibits mTORC1, thereby promoting cell self-cleaning.

Counteracting muscle breakdown

According to these findings, mTORC1 plays a major role in tightly coordinating the mechanism of autophagy, maintaining the balance between muscle growth and breakdown. The scientists suspect that an overactive mTORC1 complex may also contribute to the development of the  age-related muscle weakness seen in man. Therefore, a closer examination of the mTORC1 regulation system in the context of aging may provide new therapeutic approaches for the counteracting of the muscle weakness.

Original article:

Perrine Castets, Shuo Lin, Nathalie Rion, Sabrina Di Fulvio, Klaas Romanino, Maitea Guridi, Stephan Frank, Lionel A. Tintignac, Michael Sinnreich and Markus A. Rüegg (2013). Sustained activation of mTORC1 in skeletal muscle inhibits constitutive and starvation-induced autophagy and causes a severe, late-onset myopathy. Cell Metabolism; Published online April 18, 2013 Contact: Communications, Katrin Bühler]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Markus Rüegg Home (3 Column) Sun, 21 Apr 2013 17:07:00 +0200 The Credit for the New Biozentrum Construction is Approved http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/the-credit-for-the-new-biozentrum-construction-is-approved/ The Basel-Land parliament has approved the 158-million loan for the construction of the new... Bionews Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:27:00 +0200 Using molecules to feel molecules http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/using-molecules-to-feel-molecules/ The research group of Prof. Roderick Lim has developed a new method to gain deeper insights into... Molecules on nanoscale "highway" Based on their findings, Lim and his co-workers explain that the nuclear pore complex resembles a nanoscale "highway", where there exist slow and fast lanes. This explanation is capable of resolving the biological problem of how the proteins inside the nuclear pore complex select and promote the fast transport of specific molecules between the cytoplasm and nucleus. The breakthrough came with the realization that non-interacting molecules are the most natural probes that “feel” conformational changes in interfacial layers using a routine technique - surface plasmon resonance (SPR). With the new SPR method, the Lim group could circumvent physical limitations, which previously made SPR structural measurements difficult. This enabled Lim to successfully measure conformational changes and binding properties in situ for the first time.

Engineering of nanopores

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is routinely applied to assess protein-protein interactions and binding affinities, as well as in drug and proteomic research. Since protein and/or polymer coated surfaces are found everywhere in biology and technology, resolving such binding-associated conformational changes is of important benefit for understanding their function. In addition, Lim’s findings provide the basis for designing molecular, selective channels and nanopores for scientific and medical research.

Original Article:

Schoch, R. L. and  Lim, R. Y. H. (2013) Non-Interacting molecules as innate structural probes in surface plasmon resonance. Langmuir; Published online February 25, 2013 Schoch, R. L., Kapinos, L. E. and Lim, R. Y. H. (2012) Nuclear transport receptor binding avidity triggers a self-healing collapse transition in FG-nucleoporin molecular brushes. PNAS; Published online October 4, 2012 Contact: Communications ]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Roderick Lim Home (3 Column) Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:26:00 +0200 Nobel Prize Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn at the Biozentrum http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/nobel-prize-laureate-elizabeth-blackburn-at-the-biozentrum/ In 2007, the Time magazine named Elizabeth Blackburn one of the 100 “Most Influential People in the... Bionews Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:52:00 +0200 Symposium: Frontiers in Structural Biology and Biophysics http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/symposium-frontiers-in-structural-biology-and-biophysics/ On 22nd March 2013, the Biozentrum of the University of Basel will hold a scientific symposium on... More information and registration Contact: Communications ]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Stephan Grzesiek Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:28:00 +0100 New Insights into the Signaling Network of the Vital Protein mTOR http://www.biozentrum.unibas.ch/news-events/news-details/article/new-insights-into-the-signaling-network-of-the-vital-protein-mtor/ Many diseases are caused by malfunction of the mTOR signaling network. Accurate knowledge of... Novel mTOR Target Proteins Identified Because of the central role of mTOR in the cell, scientists suspect that many of the proteins and processes it controls remain to be discovered. By means of a very advanced technology, the so-called quantitative phosphoproteomics, the research group of Hall has now been able to identify more than 300 new mTOR target proteins which perform a wide range of tasks. Detailed investigations showed that the mTORC1 stimulates, amongst others, the formation of nucleotides and thus controls the growth and proliferation of cells. Nucleotides are the building blocks of the genetic material and are manufactured in several steps from simple molecules. The first steps in the biosynthesis of nucleotides are mediated by the CAD enzyme. mTORC1 enhances the association of multiple CAD enzymes to form oligomers and thereby stimulates CAD activity and the production of nucleotides.

Many Details Unknown

Although we now understand well how mTOR acts, the current results show that there are still many details which are unknown. The comprehensive investigation of the mTOR-controlled signaling pathways and the effects of regulation deficiencies are enourmously important for the understanding of disease processes and the development of new therapeutic approaches. With their research, Hall and his team add another important piece to the mTOR puzzle.

Original article:

Aaron M. Robitaille, Stefan Christen, Mitsugu Shimobayashi, Marion Cornu, Luca L. Fava, Suzette Moes, Cristina Prescianotto-Baschong, Uwe Sauer, Paul Jenoe and Michael N. Hall (2013). Quantitative Phosphoproteomics Reveal mTORC1 Activates de Novo Pyrimidine Synthesis. Science; Published online February 21, 2013]]> Bionews Related to Prof. Michael Hall Home (3 Column) Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:52:00 +0100