Dr. Marius Lemberg Intramembrane proteolysis

Intramembrane proteolysis has become increasingly recognised as an important control mechanism in all kingdoms of life. Intramembrane proteases have also been implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s or viral infections. Despite a few well-studied examples such as γ-secretase, very little is known about most of the 13 intramembrane proteases known in humans. We are interested to elucidate the function of these proteases in physiological processes such as cellular membrane homeostasis and in events of molecular aging like e.g. functions in apoptosis. Although the recent progress in the biochemical analysis of solubilised intramembrane proteases, and a number of high-resolution structures, has led to first real insights, key mechanistic questions remain. We combine various approaches ranging from biochemistry, cell biology to bioinformatics with the aim to identify protease substrates and to analyze their function.

Detailed information on the project can be found at
www.zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de/Lemberg/default.shtml