Research
Waldemar Kolanus, Dr. rer. nat.Professor of Molecular Immunologyphone: +49 (0)2 28 / 73 - 6 27 90 |
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| 1978-1984 | Undergraduate studies in Biology and Chemistry, University of Hannover, Germany |
| 1987 | PhD in Molecular Biology, University of Hannover |
| 1988-1994 | Postdoctoral positions at Clinical Immunology, Hannover Medical School and at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Molecular Biology, Boston, USA |
| 1994-1999 | Independent group leader, Gene Center, Munich, Germany |
| 1999-2002 | Professor of Biochemistry, University of Munich |
| since 2002 | Full Professor and Chair of Immune- and Cell Biology, Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES)-Institute, University of Bonn, Germany |
Research Interests
Our lab is investigating signal transduction processes which are either regulating cell adhesion, or those which are the consequences of cell-cell interactions. We study these functions in various cells of the human immune system. The main reason for this is the fact, that a coordinated immune response requires a tight organization of
a) recruitment of defending cells into pathogen-invaded tissues,
b) activation of their effector functions towards intruder and eventually
c) the down-regulation of the response. The elucidation of these processes is most relevant for a better understanding of the molecular basis of vertebrate immunity. Moreover, such knowledge may in the future be applied in clinical situations where a modulation of immune functions is desirable, e.g. in autoimmunity, sepsis or organ transplantation. In the recent past we have been concentrating on two specific areas which are a) the control of lymphocyte adhesion and b) intracelluar signals which turn on cytokine gene expression. We are applying modern techniques of molecular genetics, immunology and cell biology to tackle important questions of our research area. Examples are the use of the two-hybrid system, protein biochemistry and various cell-based assay systems for the identification and functional characterization of genes. New areas being developed in the lab are live cell imaging for the visualization of signalling processes, as well as mouse transgenic and knock-out technologies in the investigation of gene function at the organismic level.
Key publications
Quast, T., Tappertzhofen, B., Schild, C., Grell, J., Czeloth, N., Förster,R., Alon, R, Fraemohs, L., Dreck, K., Weber, C., Lämmermann, T., Sixt, M., Kolanus, W. (2009). Cytohesin-1 controls the Activation of RhoA Modulates Integrin-dependent Adhesion and Migration of Dendritic Cells. Blood, epublished ahead of print, Apr 23
The NHL-domain protein Wech is crucial for the integrin-cytoskeleton link Löer B., Bauer R., Bornheim R., Nickel J., Kremmer E., Kolanus W., Hoch M. Nature Cell Biology, 2008, 10, 422-428
Hafner M, Schmitz A, Grüne I, Srivatsan SG, Paul B, Kolanus W, Quast T, Kremmer E, Bauer I, Famulok M. Cytohesin inhibition by SecinH3 leads to hepatic insulin resistance, Nature, 2006, 444, 941-944
Shamri R, Grabovsky V, Gauguet JM, Feigelson S, Manevich E, Kolanus W, Robinson MK, Staunton DE, von Andrian UH, Alon R. Lymphocyte arrest requires instantaneous induction of an extended LFA-1 conformation mediated by endothelium-bound chemokines. Nat Immunol. 2005; 6(5):497-506.
Boehm T, Hofer S, Winklehner P, Kellersch B, Geiger C, Trockenbacher A, Neyer S, Fiegl H, Ebner S, Ivarsson L, Schneider R, Kremmer E, Heufler C, Kolanus W. Attenuation of cell adhesion in lymphocytes is regulated by CYTIP, a protein which mediates signal complex sequestration. EMBO J. 2003; 22:1014-1024.
Weber C, Weber KSC, Nagel W, Dierks H, Kolanus W. Cytohesin-1 mediates chemokine-induced LFA-1 functions in leukocyte recruitment: linking shear-resistant arrest and directional transmigration. Curr. Biol. 2001; 11: 1969-1974.