Characterization of mitochondria-ER contact sites and their role in cellular signalling (P02)

• Subject Area: Biochemistry
• Term: from 2016 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 264061860

Mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) form close appositions designated as contact sites which are implicated in several cellular functions (e.g. calcium buffering, lipid trafficking, mitochondrial morphology), and their disruption has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases. It remains unclear how these contact sites are assembled and regulated, and how the disruption of ER-mitochondria contacts affects the rest of the cell, in particular cellular signalling. This project will (1) characterize a novel interaction of an integral mitochondrial protein to an ER-resident protein and (2) study how mitochondrial malfunction affects the stability and formation of ER-mitochondria contacts in cultured cells and primary cortical neurons and what are the signalling consequences of perturbation on ER-mitochondria contacts.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1190: Compartmental Gates and Contact Sites in Cells
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Heads: Dr. Ira Milosevic; Dr. Nuno Raimundo