Nukleinsäure-, Protein-, Zell-bezogene Technologien

Cancer remains a major health burden and is the second leading cause of death globally (WHO). The microenvironment of cancer cells plays an important role in disease progression. In particular, the composition of the extracellular matrix regulates angiogenesis, cell proliferation, differentiation, cell survival and apoptosis. Dysregulation and accumulation of the extracellular matrix promotes cellular transformation and metastasis leading to cancer progression. A better understanding of the role ...

Natural extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid vesicles that carry a plethora of biologically active molecules including soluble and membrane proteins, nucleic acids and metabolites. They have recently been recognized as a promising cell-free alternative to cell transplantation or as a novel therapeutic tool in various diseases. Many in vitro and in vivo studies have shown beneficial effects of EVs from different cell types in diseases ranging from cardiovascular conditions to ...

The development of the cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by Prof. Ernst Bamberg and his colleagues, and its application to light-induced modulation of neurons paved the way for the field of optogenetics.
Over time the light-gated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) has become an indispensable tool in neuroscience. Based on the pioneering work on ChR2 new variants have emerged, differing in their spectrum of light absorption, their kinetic ...

Conjugation of a NAD-capped nucleic acid to a protein catalysed by an ART to generate novel RNA therapeutics.

Precise genome editing demands for homology-directed repair (HDR) by aiming to introduce a new double stranded DNA substituting for a homologous sequence but partially defect one. This substrate dependent reaction does compete with direct non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) of the double strand breaks. NHEJ is error-prone and is therefor mainly used for gene inactivation.
The rate of NHEJ is directly limiting the rate of HDR. For this reason HDR in vitro does occur on a very low level only and ...

A Cas nuclease such as Cas9 can introduce a DNA double strand break in a sequence target that is complementary to a 20-nt spacer sequence of its bound guide RNA (gRNA) when a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) is present. The gRNA can be provided as duplex of spacer containing CRISPR RNA (crRNA) and trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA). Or as a single gRNA (sgRNA) where crRNA and tracrRNA are fused by an artificial loop.
Hence a gRNA consists of the target-specific spacer and a constant part typically ...

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing have identified glutamine synthetase as a novel regulatory target for cholesterol biosynthesis. This approach enables selective cholesterol reduction while preserving vital cellular metabolites, offering a promising platform for safer and broader therapeutic applications.

An improved method to perform cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) assays or other fluorescent assays in the context of CFPS with very low reaction mix volumes. Various additional advantages allow to significantly reduce costs and time.

The technology, called CRISPRpad, was recently developed in  the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens under the direction of Emmanuelle Charpentier and has now been filed for a patent. CRISPRpad enables the simultaneous insertion of DNA into various organisms—from microbes to yeast and human cells—without modifying the DNA itself. This eliminates the need for time-consuming cloning processes across different species.

Crystallization is the limiting step in X-ray structure determination of biological macro-molecules. As crystallization experiments can be largely automatized, the diversity of precipitant solutions is often the determinant factor to obtain crystals of high quality.

To realize a circular, carbon-neutral economy, it will become important to utilize the greenhouse gas CO2 as a sustainable carbon source. One-carbon (C1) substrates, such as methanol or formate, are attractive feedstocks for bioeconomy due to their low cost and easy availability. These substrates are typically converted into formaldehyde, serving as the entry point into metabolism. Biocatalytic carbon-carbon bond formation is one of the most important reactions for green and sustainable C1 assimilation ...

Besides its four canonical nucleotides, RNA molecules can be capped with diverse canonical (N7-methylguanosine (m7G)) and non-canonical chemical modifications (including NAD, FAD, Coenzyme A and Ap(n)A). In ligation-based methods such as 5′ RACE and RNA-seq, decapping of RNAs is useful for detection and identification of RNA containing non-canonical initiating nucleotides. Nudix hydrolases, such as Dcp2 or NudC, are key decapping enzymes that hydrolyze phosphodiester bonds within these caps. ...

RNA plays a vital role in gene expression regulation, and its dysregulation is linked to diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and viral infections. Targeting RNA-binding proteins or RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs, represents an emerging area in drug discovery. However, traditional RNA-binding small molecules often rely on linear hydrophobic aromatic scaffolds, which limit chemical diversity and therapeutic potential. This invention introduces azetidine-based small molecules, ...

SUMOvera enables versatile purification strategies for broad applications in eukaryotic hosts.

Unique multifunctional oligonucleotide for the ultrafast transcriptome-wide identification of RNA-binding protein (RBP) targets.