The cytoskeletal proteins play the major role in the spatial and temporal organization of a cell. They provide the mechanical features of a cell like shape, rigidity, spatial organization and are responsible for  transport  of cellular compounds, muscle actions and also for migration of whole cells. These proteins build up three types of filamentous structures  which are associated with further proteins and are tightly involved into nearly all cellular processes. Consequently failures of this system lead to a wide variety of diseases ranging from metabolic diseases, blindness, skin disorders  to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Our primary research is directed towards understanding the molecular mechanisms governing the assembly, reorganization and disassembly  of  intermediate filaments (IFs) in a cellular context. IFs build up stable filaments that give cells mechanical properties to withstand mechanical powers, but in the last years it has become evident that they also play a regulatory role in a wide range of cellular processes.

Our working hypothesis is that understanding the basic principles of intermediate filament dynamics is a prerequisite to understand their normal functions  and of diseases based on dysfunction of these proteins.
 

Live cell imaging has become a major tool in cell biology over the last decade. Our lab is running different microscope workplaces that are specialized in live cell imaging, e.g. a Zeiss 710 confocal microscope.  This allows us to record 4D (xyz + time) the distribution of fluorescent proteins in living cells. A major challenge is the analysis of these large data sets, wherefore specialized software is used.