Detail

Keywords

Cell Communication; Endothelial Cells; Extracellular Fluid; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Inflammation; Innate Immunity; Oxidative Stress; Proteomics

Research group(s)

• Competence Center of Oral Biology
  Head: Reinhard Gruber
  Research Area: The Competence Center Oral Biology is involved in dental research and training. The work is done in an interdisciplinary team with national and international cooperation, integrating academia and industry.
  Members:
  Reinhard Gruber
  Zahra Kargarpour
  Layla Panahipour
  Ulrike Kuchler
  Balazs Feher
  Ulrike Resch
• Serpins
  Members:
  Margarethe Geiger
  Ulrike Resch
• Oxidative Stess, OSE, EVs, Vesicles, Biomarkers, Proteomics
  Head: Ulrike Resch
  Research Area: One of my main research focus is to understand cause and consequence of oxidative stress in endothelial dysfunction. Another research focus is to investigate physico-chemical- and biochemical properties of pro-and eukaryotic membrane vesicles (EVs).
  Members:
  Ulrike Resch
• Vienna Platelet Laboratories
  Head: Alice Assinger
  Research Area: Platelets and microvesicles in infection, inflammation and tissue regeneration
  Members:
  Waltraud Schrottmaier
  Ulrike Resch
  Alice Assinger
• Proteomics Core Facility
  Head: Klaus Kratochwill
  Research Area: The mission of the Proteomics Core Facility at the Medical University of Vienna is to provide the researchers at the Medical University of Vienna with consulting, teaching, protein analysis services and quantitative method development.
  Members:
  Ulrike Resch
• CECAD/CMMC Proteomics Facility
  Research Area: Quantitative methods, such as label-free or based on stable isotope tagging, are well established as are key techniques for the analysis of dynamic changes of protein patterns in complex biological backgrounds.In addition, quantitative approaches are used for sensitive and accurate identification of interacting proteins and structural details of protein complexes. Finally, the Facility offers expert analyses of protein profiles and post-translational modifications (PTM).
  Members:
  Ulrike Resch

Research interests

One of my research focus is to understand cause and consequence of inflammation, which impacts health, life quality and longevity.

Central to me appears endothelial dysfunction, instigated by endogenous lipid and carbohydrate metabolic disorders (atherosclerosis, diabetes) and exogenous threats (bacterial- and viral infection, environmental poisons), altogether leading to inflammation, organelle dysfunction, oxidative stress and cell death.

Thus, it is important to understand mechanisms promoting the resolution of inflammation. In this context, free radical mediated damage of lipids and proteins, the generation of DAMPs and neoantigens (oxidation specific epitopes, OSE) link innate and adaptive immune responses. Therefore, mechanisms restoring a redox balance need to be investigated in more detail.

Another research focus is to investigate physico-chemical- and biochemical properties of extracellular vesicles (EVs).

These nano-sized, lipid-bilayered structures represent universal inter-and intracellular communication systems and their biological significance is becoming more and more evident. I am also interested in the interface prokaryotic-eukaryotic (inter-kingdom)-communication. From the prokaryotic side I focus on EVs released by the opportunistic Streptococcus pyogenes and the antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and investigate their crosstalk with both professional and non-professional phagocytic cells (monocytes, endothelial cells).

I study the molecular composition of EVs to identify disease-signature proteins and to elucidate immunogenic structures presented by these EVs with the aim to develop cell- and tissue-specific biomarkers and new therapeutic treatment options.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

Biochemistry (Signal Transduction, Protein expression, Posttranslational modifications, Enzymatic Assays, Immunoblotting, Immunohistochemistry, ELISA);

Preparative and analytical ultracentrifugation (Lipoproteins, Vesicles)

Molecular Biology (Cloning, RTq-PCR, gene silencing -shRNA-lentivirus, gene knock-out -CRISRP-Cas);

Proteomics (SILAC, Interaction/immuno-proteomics, phosphoproteomics, proteome profiling, clinical proteomics, 2D-DIGE)

Bioanalytics: MS (Orbitrap, TimsToF, MALDI), Chromatography (n/U-HPLC, DC, GC);

Omics-data analysis

Infrastructure:

Laboratories (BSL1, BSL2); Zellculture; Ultracentrifuges; Imager, Microscopes, FACS; Exoid; High performance Workstation