BIOSS Research Area A: Intracellular Signalling Pathways

Cellular signalling is the key to any form of life. Research in BIOSS raised the concept that cellular signalling is mediated through protein assemblies of different complexity. Comprehensive understanding of these assemblies and their finely orchestrated operation represents the key to physiology, pathophysiology and manipulation of cells and organs.

BIOSS-A1 focuses on signalling at the plasma membrane studying organization of protein complexes. The rules of their assembly as well as the structural and mechanistic details of their operation are studied by a combined approach of high-end proteomic, biochemical, structural and functional analyses of a variety of distinct classes of membrane proteins. Investigations of how extracellular signals are translated into changes in gene expression and how epigenetic modifications of chromatin modulate proliferation, cell fate decisions and differentiation are pursued in BIOSS-A2.

BIOSS-A3 focuses on key signalling mechanisms that regulate biogenesis and function of mitochondria. The structural and mechanistic characterizations of protein complexes will be combined with synthetic approaches including the rebuilding of protein complexes in natural and synthetic membranes.