Biomolecular structures & interactions

The normal function of cells, tissues, and organs, and thus the maintenance of a healthy organism, requires a complex interplay of biomolecular interactions. Many disruptions of these interactions are associated with a variety of diseases. Thus, the elucidation of molecular structures and the resulting function of proteins, enzymes, cell membranes and lipid aggregates as well as their molecular interactions play a crucial role for the fundamental understanding of (patho-)physiological processes and the development of new therapeutic approaches. This includes, for example, highly specific active agents that have been specifically tailored to act on pathological-structural changes.

Within BioHealth, the research area "Biomolecular structures & interactions" studies biomolecular interactions, using a range of experimental and computational methods from the fields of integrative structural biology and biophysics. Among them, microscopic techniques, such as classical light/fluorescence microscopy and cryoelectron microscopy (cryoEM), as well as protein crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, (single molecule) fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray and neutron small angle scattering, light scattering, calorimetry, chromatography, microfluidics, and quantum chemical and molecular dynamics simulations are used.

Currently, we are conducting research on the following topics:

• Structure-function relationships of proteins involved in intracellular and intravascular lipid metabolism, which are important for both energy balance and intercellular communication.
• Structure-based development of inhibitors of lipases from human pathogenic bacteria.
• Structure and function of proteins involved in ribosome biogenesis, particularly AAA-ATPases and RNA helicases.
• Structural determinants of enzyme properties, both to design enzymes with specific properties and to predict enzyme functions.
• Structural characterization of proteins and lipids of the bacterial cell membrane for the development of membrane-specific drugs.
• Functions of eukaryotic plasma membranes, particularly lipid asymmetry and its loss in cancer cells, which enables - among other things - the development of highly specific antitumor peptides.
• Interactions of pharmacologically important membrane receptors - G-protein-coupled receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases - with natural ligands, drugs and antibodies.
• Structure determination of major allergens for mechanistic elucidation of allergic diseases.