The Crowded Cell
Cluster Biology
Cells are not empty spaces filled with organelles, but filled with proteins and other biomolecules. Most proteins do not act or move through the cell alone, but are part of larger protein complexes, which in turn are not stagnant, but are subject to a certain dynamic. These dynamics also depend on the microenvironment in which the complexes reside. Therefore, it is more useful to consider the functions of proteins as a function of greater clusters of proteins and other biomolecules.
Cluster Biology of Inflammation
Our research focuses on the iRhom-ADAM17 shedding complex as a central hub for inflammatory signalling pathways. The balanced activity of this complex is the switch between a healthy immune response and pathological signalling pathways. We are thus trying to understand the different levels of regulation of this shedding complex. Interestingly, the iRhom-ADAM17 complex undergoes dynamic changes in its interaction with other proteins, depending on subcellular localisation and milieu. In other words, the iRhom-ADAM17 core complex is part of a dynamic cluster of changing (regulating) interactors.
