Piekorz Group

for further details please visit the  webinformation

Group leader

Title	Name	First Name	Position
Dr.	Piekorz	Roland	Group Leader

 For more information on the principal investigator click here...

BioStruct Fellow

Title	Name	First Name	Position
Msc.	Thakur	Harish	PhD student

 For more information on the biostruct fellow click here...

Further Team Members

Technicians:	2
PHD/MD students:	3

Contact

Cellular signaling and mitosis group
Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Universitätsstrasse 1, Geb. 22.03.03
40225 Düsseldorf
Germany

 +49(0)211-81-12739
 +49(0)211-81-12726


website:
http://www.uniklinik-duesseldorf.de/deutsch/unternehmen/institute/institutfrbiochemieundmolekularbiologieii/page.html

Special Methodical Expertise

• Analysis of protein localization by confocal laser scanning microscopy

 click here for further information

• Analysis of protein function by RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knock down of gene expression

 click here for further information

• Purification and analysis of prion proteins from cell cultures and natural tissues

Main areas of research interest

• Biological role of centrosomal TACC proteins
• Centrosomal proteins as novel mitotic cancer targets
• Role of the mitotic spindle apparatus in cellular aging

 click here for further information

• Function of pertussistoxin-sensitive, heterotrimeric G proteins in cell division
• Function of pertussistoxin-sensitive, heterotrimeric G proteins in cardiovascular homeostasis

 click here for further information

Facilities

The laboratories cover the following gene technology security levels:

S1

Laboratory Equipment

General equipment available in the laboratories:

• Biochemistry
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Cell Biology
• Microbiology
• Histology
• Imaging

Special equipment, which is not generally available in most laboratories:

• Core unit for confocal laserscanning microscopy (cLSM)
• Realtime PCR (qPCR)
• Leica equipment to generate cryosections from tissues, histological staining methods

Non-standard methods, which are established in the laboratory:

• ADP-Ribosylation
• Live cell imaging of proteins
• Lentiviral-based, shRNA-mediated gene silencing
• Mouse genetics
• Isolation and analysis of primary cell types from transgenic mice

Important references

• Piekorz RP, Hoffmeyer A, Duntsch CD, McKay C, Nakajima H, Sexl V, Snyder L, Rehg J, Ihle JN (2002). The centrosomal protein TACC3 is essential for hematopoietic stem cell function and genetically interfaces with p53 regulated apoptosis. EMBO J. 21, 653-664.
• Schündeln M*, Piekorz RP*, Wichmann C, Lee Y, Takahashi Y, McKinnon P, Ihle JN (2004). The centrosomal, putative tumor suppressor protein TACC2 is dispensable for normal development and deficiency does not lead to cancer. Mol. Cell. Biol., 24, 6403-6409 (*shared first authors).
• Cully MJ, Shiu J, Piekorz RP, Muller WJ, Done SJ, Mak TW (2005). Transforming acidic coiled coil 1 promotes transformation and mammary tumorigenesis. Cancer Res., 65, 10363-10370.
• Schneider L., Essmann F, Kletke A, Rio P, Hanenberg H, Wetzel W, Schulze-Osthoff K, Nürnberg B, Piekorz RP (2007). The Transforming Acidic Coiled Coil 3 protein is essential for spindle-dependent chromosome alignment and mitotic survival. J. Biol. Chem., 282, 29273-29283.
• Schneider L, Essmann F, Kletke A, Rio P, Hanenberg H, Schulze-Osthoff K, Nürnberg B, Piekorz RP (2008). TACC3 depletion sensitizes to paclitaxel-induced cell death and overrides p21WAF -mediated cell cycle arrest. Oncogene, 27, 116-125.

Cooperators

• Pujana, Miguel, Dr., Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
• Nürnberg, Bernd, Prof. Dr., University of Tübingen, Germany
• Sexl, Veronika, Prof. Dr., Medical University of Vienna, Austria
• Wichmann, Christian, Dr., University of Frankfurt, Germany
• Essmann, Frank, Dr., University of Tübingen, Germany