Ageing leads to an impairment of tissue homeostasis and functional decline of organs. In developed countries, it represents a main risk factor for prevalent diseases such as cardiovascular disease and neurodegeneration. To devise therapies aimed at improving the health state of the elderly, detailed knowledge of molecular mechanisms leading to the impairment of organ function with increasing age is essential. Accumulating evidence indicates that posttranslational modifications (PTMs) of proteins contribute to functional decline during ageing. PTMs occur due to either enzymatically catalysed or non-enzymatic reactions, with both types often targeting the same amino acids. Under physiological conditions, enzymatic PTMs regulate protein activities, thereby controlling structure and function of cells. However, due to alterations of modifying enzymes or because of an altered cellular environment in aged organisms, enzymatic and non-enzymatic PTM patterns may change. Moreover, non-enzymatic modifications, such as glycation or oxidation, may compete with enzymatically catalysed processes, such as acetylation and glycosylation. As a consequence, dysregulation of cellular processes occurs. The aim of the Research Training Group (RTG) is to investigate PTMs of cellular proteins as key players in age progression. Scientists from the universities of Halle and Jena as well as from the Leibniz Institute on Aging (Jena) combine their expertise from various fields of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, biomedicine and omics-based technologies to characterise PTM-mediated mechanisms of functional decline during ageing. In particular, the influence of PTMs on ageing-relevant signalling proteins and pathways as well as on epigenetic and transcriptional regulation is being investigated. The research programme constitutes an excellent scaffold serving the qualification of young scientists for a future career in interdisciplinary ageing research from basic chemistry to medicine. The RTG provides an innovative qualification programme including state-of-the-art methodological platforms and high-quality training in theoretical and practical aspects of ageing research with a focus on PTMs. In Germany, structured training programmes in ageing research are rare, especially in view of the known magnitude of the demographic burden. The RTG fills this gap and guarantees lasting research achievements by promoting excellent graduate education, accelerating scientific progress and opening new translational approaches in this field.
DFG Programme
Research Training Groups
