Affiliation
Biomedical Center Munich (BMC), Biochemistry,
Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich
Contact
Research Focus
Short project description
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia and a clear challenge for modern public health. Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is expressed by microglia, and sequence variants have been identified as risk factors for AD. Although mainly described as a microglia membrane-bound receptor, extensive shedding producing a soluble form has been observed.
Searching for a physiological role for this soluble TREM2 was of interest, and electrophysiological data indicating long-term synaptic plasticity alterations on hippocampus slices in its presence led to an investigation of pathways involved in the communication between microglia and astrocytes modulating synapse activity.
Some of these effects could be reproduced with co-expression of the soluble form of the TREM family members, indicating it is indeed a part of the soluble domain, which would take part in this binding. The project will address the direct interaction of soluble TREM proteins with candidate receptors using site-directed mutagenesis and functional assays to monitor the effects on the interaction and activity in cell culture and in vitro.
Possible project supervisor(s): Ms. Andrea Eder & Dr. Camilla Giudici
Must-have lab skills
- team player personality,
- curiosity for principal questions of biochemistry and physiology
Nice to have lab skills
- some hands-on lab experience from which the student can profit when starting the work in a wet lab