Studies

Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy 9 (HSAN9) is a rare neurological disease caused by mutations in the gene encoding for Tectonin β-propeller repeat containing protein 2 (TECPR2) which possibly result in loss of the protein. Beside its potential role in autophagy, TECPR2 may serve as positive modulator of COPII-mediated ER export. However, the molecular consequences of TECPR2 deficiency for the secretory pathway remain unclear, in particular with regard to specific cargo proteins. By ...

The protease BACE1 is a major drug target for Alzheimer’s disease, but chronic BACE1 inhibition is associated with non-progressive worsening that may be caused by modulation of unknown physiological BACE1 substrates. To identify in vivo-relevant BACE1 substrates we applied pharmacoproteomics to non-human-primate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after acute treatment with BACE inhibitors. Besides SEZ6, the strongest, dose-dependent reduction was observed for the pro-inflammatory cytokine receptor ...

Inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) can impair the function of neuronal mitochondria and contributes to axon degeneration in the common neuroinflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we combine cell type-specific mitochondrial proteomics with in vivo biosensor imaging to dissect how inflammation alters the molecular composition and functional capacity of neuronal mitochondria. Neuroinflammatory lesions in the mouse spinal cord cause widespread and persisting axonal ATP ...

Prion-like spreading of protein misfolding is characteristic for neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanisms of intercellular protein aggregate dissemination remain unresolved. Evidence accumulates that endogenous retroviruses, remnants of viral germline infections that are normally epigenetically silenced, become upregulated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and tauopathies. Here we uncover that activation of endogenous retroviruses affects prion-like ...

The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) emerges as an important PET biomarker to assess the tumor microenvironment (TME) in glioblastoma. However, various cellular sources hamper interpretation and biological understanding of TSPO and other immune biomarkers in the TME. Thus, we established a novel method, combining immunomagnetic cell sorting after radiotracer injection (scRadiotracing) with 3D histology via light sheet microscopy and proteomics to dissect cellular allocation of TSPO enrichment ...

Age-related decline in brain endothelial cell (BEC) function critically contributes to cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative disease. Comprehensive atlases of the BEC transcriptome have become available but results from proteomic profiling are lacking. To gain insights into endothelial pathways affected by aging, we developed a magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS)-based mouse BEC enrichment protocol compatible with high-resolution mass-spectrometry and analysed the profiles of protein abundance ...

The beta-secretase BACE1 is a central drug target for Alzheimer’s disease. Clinically tested, BACE1-directed inhibitors also block the homologous protease BACE2. Yet, little is known about physiological BACE2 substrates and functions in vivo. Here, we performed glycoprotein enrichment and subsequent discovery proteomics to identify substrates of the protease BACE2 in plasma of mice. Therefore, we analysed plasma from BACE2 KO, BACE1/2 double KO and WT controls, as well as BACE1 KO with a separate ...