SFB 284: Glycoconjugates and Contact Structures of the Cell Surface

在合作研究中心内，分析了编码碳水化合物修饰酶和糖脂结合蛋白的284个基因。它们的基因产物在不同的表达系统中重组表达，以纯糖蛋白进行结构和功能分析。抑制剂和诱导剂用于分析糖脂代谢的调节和基于鞘脂的信号分子的形成。通过引入突变和重组，制备编码糖蛋白的基因，用于研究其生物合成和细胞内转运。通过同源重组产生定义基因缺陷的动物模型。它们允许在整个动物和细胞培养研究中对感兴趣的蛋白质进行功能研究。还研究了天然形成的糖缀合物，并用生物化学方法表征。进一步的研究重点是连接蛋白介导的细胞-细胞接触和皮肤角质层。研究内容包括结构、功能和酶学（A），细胞生物学、代谢和调控（B），分子生物学和病理生物化学（C）。

Within the collaborative research centre 284 genes are analyzed that are encoding carbohydrate-modifying enzymes as well as glycolipid binding-proteins. Their gene products are recombinantly expressed in different expression systems to conduct structural and functional analyses with the pure glycoproteins. Inhibitors and inductors are used to analyze the regulation of glycolipid metabolism and the formation of sphingolipid-based signalling molecules.By introducing mutations and recombinations, genes encoding glycoproteins are prepared for the study of their biosynthesis and intracellular transport. Animal models deficient in defined genes are generated by homologous recombination. They allow functional studies of interesting proteins in the whole animal and in cell culture studies. Also naturally formed glycoconjugates are studied and characterized with biochemical methods. A further research focus is on connexin-mediated cell-cell contacts and the stratum corneum of the skin. The molecular function of different connexins are studied in the gap-junctions of different tissues, and that of keratins in suitable knockout animals.The research program is organized in three fields: structure, function, and enzymology (A), cell biology, metabolism, and regulation (B), and molecular biology and pathobiochemistry (C).