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Christian Schöfer
Christian Schöfer

Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology (Division of Cell and Developmental Biology)
Position: Associate Professor

ORCID: 0000000195705692
T +43 1 40160 37713
christian.schoefer@meduniwien.ac.at

Further Information

Keywords

Cell Nucleus; Chromatin; Embryology; Gene Expression; Imaging, Three-Dimensional

Research interests

Chromatin organization and gene expression control are fundamental determinants of cellular life. The coordinated generation of different chromatin states within the three-dimensional nuclear space is a hallmark of cell differentiation processes. Regular and aberrant differentiation processes as well as organ development reflect the particular importance of coordinated chromatin organization. We study epigenetic factors influencing the interdependence between chromatin arrangement and gene transcription, a pre-requisite of coordinated gene expression control. Correspondingly, we study the relation of chromatin and structural constituents like nucleoli or nuclear lamina and their influence on gene transcription and on the formation of functional chromatin domains. Furthermore, we study the roles of cellular senescence at the crossroads of aging, disease, and tissue homeostasis in the aging model system African Turquoise killifish.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

Molecular in situ detection methods are combined with standard molecular techniques: in situ detection of proteins and nucleic acids in live cells (stably or transient expression, CRISPR), in fixed cells or tissue sections (light- and electron microscopy) and in embryos (whole mount); experimental model system: Nothobranchius furzeri ("Killifish"), chicken

Selected publications

  1. Schöfer, S. et al. (2024) ‘Senescence-associated ß-galactosidase staining over the lifespan differs in a short- and a long-lived fish species’, European Journal of Histochemistry, 68(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2024.3977.
  2. Snyers, L. et al. (2022) ‘CX-5461 causes nucleolar compaction, alteration of peri- and intranucleolar chromatin arrangement, an increase in both heterochromatin and DNA damage response’, Scientific Reports, 12(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17923-4.
  3. Snyers, L. et al. (2022) ‘Emerin prevents BAF-mediated aggregation of lamin A on chromosomes in telophase to allow nuclear membrane expansion and nuclear lamina formation’, Molecular Biology of the Cell. Edited by D. Discher, 33(14). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.e22-01-0007.
  4. Kirchberger, S. et al. (2024) ‘Comparative transcriptomics coupled to developmental grading via transgenic zebrafish reporter strains identifies conserved features in neutrophil maturation’, Nature Communications, 15(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45802-1.
  5. Schöfer, C. and Weipoltshammer, K. (2018) ‘Nucleolus and chromatin’, Histochemistry and Cell Biology, 150(3), pp. 209–225. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-018-1696-3.