Center for Brain Research (Division of Pathobiology of the Nervous System)
Position: Research Assistant
T +43 1 40160 34094
markus.kunze@meduniwien.ac.at
Keywords
Adrenoleukodystrophy; Alzheimer Disease; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters; Evolution, Molecular; Lipid Metabolism; Peroxisomes; Protein Transport
Research interests
Intracellular Transport Processes
A variety of metabolic pathways are sequestered within peroxisomes. Thus, the participating enzymes and the metabolic substrates have to be imported into this organelle. The mechanisms mediating an efficient and specific transport of soluble and membrane proteins to peroxisomes are a major focus of interest. The transfer of small organic compounds across the peroxisomal membrane by specific transporter proteins and the metabolic interconversion of these compounds within peroxisomes are the second major focus. Both aspects are of medical importance, because a dysfunction in transport processes has been linked to human diseases such as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, Alzheimers disease or metabolic disorders.
Techniques, methods & infrastructure
Immunofluorescenc Microscopy, Western Blot, Subcellular Fractionation, Density Gradient Centrifugation, Yeast Two Hybrid Assay, Mammalian Two Hybrid Assay, Immunoprecipitation, Cell Culture Techniques, PCR, qRT-PCR
Selected publications
- Kunze, M., 2020. The type-2 peroxisomal targeting signal. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 1867(2), p.118609. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2019.118609.
- Chong et al., 2019. Rare Human Missense Variants can affect the Function of Disease-Relevant Proteins by Loss and Gain of Peroxisomal Targeting Motifs. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(18), p.4609. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms20184609.
- Kunze, M., 2018. Predicting Peroxisomal Targeting Signals to Elucidate the Peroxisomal Proteome of Mammals. Subcellular Biochemistry, pp.157–199. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2233-4_7.
- Berger, J. et al., 2016. Peroxisomes in brain development and function. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research, 1863(5), pp.934–955. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2015.12.005.
- Kunze, M. et al., 2015. Mechanistic Insights into PTS2-mediated Peroxisomal Protein Import. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 290(8), pp.4928–4940. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M114.601575.