Welcome to Institute of Biochemistry II

Institute of Biochemistry II, an environment where scientists are passionate about their research, where creativity and ideas are generators of success and where lab work and education breed new generations of multidisciplinary professionals.
Upcoming events

Perspectives in Molecular Medicine Lectures

Lecturer: Ralph Nixon
Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, NY, USA
Date: 12.10.2016
Title: "The pathogenic role of defective endosomal-lysosomal function in Alzheimer's disease"
More Info


IBCII Top News

13th Sep 2016
SUMO Signaling by Hypoxic Inactivation of SUMO-Specific Isopeptidases

The SUMO Signaling Group of IBCII find that SUMO signaling in hypoxia is altered by inactivation of SUMO-specific isopeptidases. Using proteomic analysis, we define a subset of hypoxia-induced SUMO1 targets and propose that hypoxia-induced SUMOylation of the transcriptional co- repressor BHLHE40 contributes to metabolic reprogramming under these conditions.

Link to the article

12th May 2016
Unveiling the ubiquitin fingerprint induced by Salmonella infection.

A cellular invasion by bacterial pathogens can immediately be detected on the molecular level. The dynamic changes observed are due to the host cell gearing up for defense and the bacterium trying to achieve its primary goal of propagation. As published in the current online edition of Molecular Cell, the groups of Ivan Dikic and Christian Behrends have shed light on the dynamic changes within a host cell in response to an infection with Salmonella. Like criminal profilers, and using quantitative mass spectrometry, the scientists tracked all sites within the host cells that are ubiquitinated in response to an infection. Ubiquitination is commonly used by cells to relay signals. The scientists hypothesized that all proteins that become ubiquitinated after Salmonella invasion must be involved in either propagating or limiting the infection. Indeed, this novel approach gave an unprecedented insight into all cellular processes affected by the infection and identified important new regulatory hubs. Given the increased occurrence of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens, which hampers current treatment schemes and prompts the need for alternative anti-bacterial strategies, this comprehensive dataset will reveal new targets for inhibiting Salmonella propagation and preventing the associated inflammatory reaction.

Link to full text article
Link to Meet the authors
Link to Autophagic Punctum

14th Apr 2016
Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation awards Christian Behrends

Dr. Christian Behrends, group leader of the Autophagy Signaling Group at the IBC2 and part of the SFB 1177 on Selective Autophagy has been selected to be a PLUS3 fellow of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. The foundation will fund his research with a generous support of around 900.000 € for the next three years.

Link to Christian Behrends Lab
Read the interview with Christian in the Journal of Cell Science

29th Mar 2016
Shedding light on ALS: Novel mechanism in selective autophagy discovered.

ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a rare and severe disease characterized by loss of motor neurons and neurodegeneration leading to death within 3-4 years. The 2014 ice bucket challenge brought ALS to broader public attention but to date there is no treatment for ALS, despite intensive research in the field. After being involved in the discovery of a kinase (Tank-binding kinase 1, TBK1) linked to ALS (Freischmidt el al., nature neuroscience 2015), researchers from the IBC2 in collaboration with international partners now succeeded in clarifying the physiological function of TBK1. The group around Ivan Dikic revealed that TBK1 specifically phosphorylates its adaptor protein optineurin, thereby enabling a stronger binding of optineurin to ubiquitin that marks damaged mitochondria. By this means, TBK1 promotes an important cellular quality control system responsible for the clearance of damaged mitochondria and other cellular organelles, a process called selective autophagy. Damaged mitochondria, TBK1 and optineurin have long been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and ALS. However, the molecular details behind this connection are only beginning to be unveiled. Benjamin Richter, first author of the study, and his colleagues could further show that an ALS-associated TBK1 mutant fails to associate with optineurin and damaged mitochondria representing a possible link to the disease mechanism underlying ALS. The results are published in this weeks’ PNAS Online Early Edition.

Link to full text article

22nd – 23rd Feb 2016
LOEWE Ub-Net PhD student and postdoc retreat, Rauischholzhausen, Germany

From 22nd to 23rd of February 2016 the LOEWE Ub-Net as well as associated PhD students and postdocs convened in the historical walls of castle Rauischholzhausen, the seminar house of the University of Gießen. In two days, all students and postdocs presented their projects and the discussion lead was rotated amongst the participants. This created a very interactive and productive exchange of ideas, experiences and advices. New collaborations were established and existing contacts strengthened. Besides, two external guests gave valuable insights into the systems of industry and academia as well as into the world of targeting influenza viruses for therapy. “The retreat is worth a repetition” was the unanimous opinion of the students afterwards.

Registration open now – Frankfurt Conference on Ubiquitin and Autophagy

Together with the Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes, the SFB 1177, and the DKTK Frankfurt, LOEWE Ub-Net is organizing the first Frankfurt Conference on Ubiquitin and Autophagy in July 2016. Both the ubiquitin system and autophagy are essential for maintaining cellular integrity and homeostasis. Defects in the two quality control systems are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. The conference brings together leading experts in this field. Further information and registration can be found here.

15th Jan 2016
Masato Akutsu successful in Volkswagen Foundation funding initiative

Exploring daring new ideas, which may transform common wisdom – this is the aim of the relatively young Volkswagen Foundation initiative called Experiment!. Dr Masato Akutsu, group leader at the IBC2 and BMLS, succeeded in the highly competitive call for bold research concepts. He secured just under 100.000 € to prove a concept which has the potential to revolutionize structure determination by protein crystallography. This process is currently often hampered by the ability of proteins to crystallize. Akutsu now proposes to develop a technology, which overcomes the need for conventional protein crystals. If successful, this will open the avenue for structure determination of a long list of proteins for which high-resolution structures could so far not be obtained.

5th Jan 2016
IBC2 Appoints New Gene Editing Group Leader

The Institute of Biochemistry II (IBC2) recruits new group leader: Dr. Manuel Kaulich will be leading the newly formed gene editing research group. Dr. Kaulich is an expert on cell cycle regulation and CRISPR-Cas9-rAAV gene replacement technologies.

1st Dec 2015
Teaching Award for Stefanie Oess

Dr. Stefanie Oess, lecturer and independent principal investigator within IBC2, was awarded the 2015 Prize for “Outstanding Dedication to Teaching” of the medical faculty (Preis für besonderes Engagement in der Lehre 2015) in recognition of her project entitled “Introduction of an audience response system in the seminar biochemistry in conjunction with a pedagogic research project”.
The Medical Faculty of the Goethe University Frankfurt awards this prize to promote excellence in teaching and Stefanie was nominated by the undergraduate students attending her biochemistry seminar series. “I am very honoured that the faculty has selected me as one of this years’ awardees. This is a fantastic recognition by the very same students that our seminar series are designed to engage with and stimulate.”, says Stefanie.
Stefanie has shown a strong commitment to high quality teaching over the past number of years. She has a special interest in a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, teaching innovation and curriculum design. She holds a certificate in higher education didactics and since 2015 is enrolled in the postgraduate degree programme Master of Medical Education (MME-D).

20th Nov 2015
DFG funds autophagy research network

Scientists from Frankfurt and Mainz have successfully applied for funding to establish a Collaborative Research Centre (CRC)/Sonderforschungsbereich (SFB) on the molecular mechanisms of selective autophagy. Autophagy literally means „self-eating“ and describes a process by which the cell recycles harmful ballast like aggregated proteins, damaged organelles or even bacterial invaders. For the next four years, the centre is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 11 M €. The initiative is led by Ivan Dikic, and is the first large-scale collaborative network in Germany in this highly competitive field. In the newly established CRC, researchers from the Goethe University, the University Medical Centre in Mainz, the Georg-Speyer-Haus in Frankfurt and the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have teamed up to characterize selective autophagy on the molecular and functional level. This will eventually lead to a better understanding of the role of autophagy in pathophysiology and pave the road for innovative, targeted therapies. The funding by the DFG will now give a powerful impetus for the network, also strengthening the position of the Rhine Main scientists on the international stage. More information on the CRC/SFB can be found under www.SFB1177.de

Link to German press release.
Link to English press release.

02th Nov 2015
Mini-Symposium on Autophagy with Patrice Codogno and Nicholas Ktistakis

The Frankfurt Autophagy Network (FAN) and the Institute of Biochemistry II (IBCII) recently hosted two scientists studying the process of autophagy with state-of-the-art microscopy techniques. Whereas Dr. Nicholas Ktistakis (Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK) employs high-resolution microscopy to investigate the early processes at the onset of autophagy, Dr. Patrice Codogno (Institute Necker Enfants-Malades, INSERM, Paris, France) is interested in the interplay of primary cilia with autophagy and on the precise cellular sites where the autophagic machinery assembles. Together, these two scientists gave a fantastic overview about the recent advances and the methods in their labs initiating vivid discussions that continued through the reception afterwards. Dr. Christian Behrends, group leader at IBCII, and Prof. Ivan Dikic, director of IBCII, organized the event.

29th Oct 2015
EMBO conference „Ubiquitin and Ubiquitin-like modifiers“ in Cavtat, Croatia


From September 18th to September 22nd 2015 the EMBO conference „Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like modifiers“ was taking place in Cavtat, Croatia. More than 350 participants enjoyed five days of excellent scientific talks, networking and poster presentations in the stimulating atmosphere of the Adriatic Coast.
It was organized by Ivan Dikic, Alexandra Stolz and Rebecca Pfeiffer from the Institute of Biochemistry II. Co-organizers of the meeting were Brenda Schulman (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, USA), Frauke Melchior (DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, ZMBH, Heidelberg, Germany) and Ron Hay (University of Dundee, UK).
There were almost 200 posters displayed with a strong participation of young scientists and a very high quality of the scientific work presented. In more than 50 talks from senior PIs as well as junior group leaders the advances in the field of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like modifiers were highlighted and it became clear that the field is facing great progress in fundamental discoveries as well as in translating the research into therapeutic applications. Coffee breaks and evening events promoted the networking in a relaxed and beautiful surrounding giving rise to establishing new contacts, collaborations or strengthening the connections already built. An afternoon boat trip to the UNESCO world heritage city Dubrovnik and a guided tour around the ancient city walls completed the social programme which peaked in the farewell party on the last conference day.
12 PhD students and PostDocs and 6 group leaders from the Institute of Biochemistry II attended this exciting conference and presented their work in posters and talks. Overall the contribution and participation in this meeting was overwhelming and the community is looking forward to the next EMBO meeting on ubiquitin in September 2017.

26th Oct 2015
Institute Retreat at Heilbronner Land


The beautiful landscape of Heilbronner Land was the destination of choice for this years’s retreat of the Institute of Biochemistry II which took place from April 15th to April 17th 2015. 3 days full of scientific discussions and exchange as well as many opportunities to socialize during common events promoted the interactive spirit amongst the institute members and raised new interactions and collaborations.
Exciting guest lectures by Philip Grote (Institute of Cardiovascular Regeneration, Frankfurt), Daniela Krause (Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt) and Malte Wachsmuth (EMBL, Heidelberg) as well as a career session with representatives from academia and industry created a stimulating and motivating atmosphere for all 70 participants, ranging from young PhD students to group leaders. Moreover, social events such as wine-tasting at a local winery as well as hiking through the vineyards, canoing on the Neckar and a guided tour through the Audi factory at Neckarsulm completed 3 successful and inspiring days at Heilbronner Land.

19th Oct 2015
Ivan Dikic elected a member of European Academy

The European Academy (Academia Europaea) announces the list of 248 scientists who were elected to the academy in 2015. Amongst them is Prof. Ivan Dikic, director of the Institute of Biochemistry 2 at the Medical School Goethe University and founding director of the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Sciences (BMLS).
The Academia Europaea was founded in 1988 as a European Academy of humanities, social, physical and life sciences as well as mathematics, engineering and medicine. This broad assembly of disciplines and the pan-European distribution of its members make the Academia unique amongst other national Academies. “I am honored to accept a membership in the European Academy and will be glad to contribute to its scientific and educational programs”, stated Ivan Dikic.
In addition, Ivan Dikic is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Croatian Academy of Medical Sciences and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

Oct 2015
Ivan Dikic appointed as a Senior Editor of eLife

Prof. Ivan Dikic has been appointed as a senior editor of the scientific journal eLife in the area of molecular signalling and quality control pathways. Since 2013, he has been serving on the board of editors of this unique journal, which is driven by a non-profit, researcher-led initiative and is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Wellcome Trust and the Max Planck Society.
Ivan Dikic also serves on the editorial boards of Cell, Molecular Cell, Developmental Cell, EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports, J Cell Biol, BMC Biology, Biochemical Journal, Cell Death and Diff. He is elected as a chairman of the EMBO Publication Committee from 2015-2018.

3rd Oct 2015
SGRF Excellence in Science Award for Ivan Dikic


Prof. Ivan Dikic receives this years’ SciGenom Research Foundation (SGRF) Excellence in Science Award for his contribution to molecular signalling and biomedicine. The award was presented at the 2015 NGBT Conference in Hyderabad, India, where Ivan Dikic was giving a keynote lecture on ubiquitin and autophagy networks in health and disease. The SGRF is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting science in India. It supports underfunded research initiatives that tackle important scientific and societal challenges, spanning the complete range of disciplines in genomic research from agriculture to human health. The SGRF Excellence in Science Award honours scientists who have made fundamental and pioneering contributions towards basic and translational research.

1st Oct 2015
TECPR2 links early secretion pathway and autophagy

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a diverse group of neurodegenerative diseases that are characterized by axonopathy of the corticospinal motor neurons. A mutation in the gene encoding for Tectonin β-propeller containing protein 2 (TECPR2) causes HSP that is complicated by neurological symptoms. While TECPR2 is human ATG8 binding protein and positive regulator of autophagy, the exact function of TECPR2 is unknown. As published in the latest issue of Molecular Cell, the group of Christian Behrends revealed that TECPR2 interacts with the COPII coat protein SEC24D to stabilize components of the COPII coating machinery. In cooperation with lipidated LC3C, TECPR2 is required for maintaining functional ER exit sites and efficient ER export. Moreover, TECPR2-deficient HSP patient cells display alterations in SEC24D abundance and ER export efficiency. Additionally, TECPR2 and LC3C are required for autophagosome formation, possibly through preserving functional ERES. Collectively, these results disclose that TECPR2 functions as molecular scaffold linking early secretion pathway and autophagy.

For the full article click here

23rd Sep 2015
Poster prize for SUMO modification studies

Anne Gärtner, PhD student in the group of Prof. Stefan Müller, was awarded with the Nature Reviews poster prize at the EMBO meeting “Ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like modifiers” (Cavtat, Croatia). Anne’s work elucidates the modification of the small ubiquitin-related protein SUMO with an acetyl group and the impact of this post-translational modification on SUMO chain formation and downstream cellular effects. SUMOylation, the covalent attachment of one or more SUMO molecules to a protein, is linked to a variety of processes such as ribosome biogenesis, nuclear transport and transcriptional regulation. It is therefore of great relevance to understand how this process is specifically regulated and modified.

13th Jul 2015
NOSTRIN regulates cardiovascular function

As reported in today’s online version of Circulation Research the group of Dr. Stefanie Oess has identified the F-BAR protein NOSTRIN as a crucial factor in the development of endothelial dysfunction, hypertension and diastolic heart failure. In this study the authors show that NOSTRIN is necessary for the correct positioning of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3R at the plasma membrane of endothelial cells. In the absence of NOSTRIN the function of the M3R was markedly impaired, resulting in abolition of the calcium response to acetylcholine, an impaired activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and the inhibition of vascular relaxation, leading to hypertension and diastolic heart failure. This work was funded by the SFB 834 and a collaboration with the groups of Ingrid Fleming (Frankfurt) and Ralph Schermuly (Gießen).

Link to article

3rd Jun 2015
When quality control fails neuropathies develop

Defects in the quality control systems of cells are often fatal. This is seen in particular in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. As published in today’s online version of Nature, a research team led by Ivan Dikic discovered a new autophagy receptor which plays a central role in cellular quality control. Mutations in this receptor impair its function and cause a hereditary neuropathy named HSAN II. This milestone study not only gives insight into the pathophysiology of a disastrous disease, but also emphasizes the importance of the autophagy network for the wellbeing of cells. Link to German press release, English press release, original article.

Link to Press Release English, German
Link to original article on Nature
 Link to News & Views on Nature

2nd Jun 2015
Amino acid dependent mTORC1 regulation by SLC38A9

The serine/threonine kinase mTORC1 regulates cellular homeostasis in response to many cues such as nutrient status and energy level. Amino acids induce mTORC1 activation on lysosomes via the small Rag GTPases and the Ragulator complex, thereby controlling protein translation and cell growth. As reported in Molecular and Cellular Biology the group of Dr. Christian Behrends identified the human 11-pass transmembrane protein SLC38A9 as a novel component of the Rag-Ragulator complex on lysosomes. Briefly, SLC38A9 regulates mTORC1 activity in an amino acid and RHEB GTPase dependent manner by defining the intracellular localization of mTOR. Based on these findings, the Behrends lab proposes a new mechanism by which amino acids control mTORC1.

Link to article in Molecular and Cellular Biology

12th May 2015
Novel gene causing Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ) is a devastating disease characterized by loss of motor neurons and neurodegeneration, usually leading to death within 3-4 years. Despite being classified as rare disease, public awareness is very high, fueled by celebrity patients like Stephen Hawking and culminating in last years’ Ice Bucket Challenge, the first charity campaign with global impact. Still, there is no treatment for ALS, despite intensive research in the field.
Researchers from IBC2 and BMLS have now made a major step to a better understanding of the genes causing ALS. They were part of an international research team initiated by Ulm and Umea Universities, which discovered that mutations in a particular kinase (Tank-binding kinase 1, TBK1) lead to loss of function of this important regulator in families with a history of ALS. The Frankfurt team around Ivan Dikic was particularly involved in revealing the functional role of TBK1 in ALS, showing that the mutations found in patients disrupt the interaction of TBK1 with its adaptor protein optineurin, which has been shown to be involved in ALS pathogenesis as well as in bacterial infection defense. Co-lead author Benjamin Richter from the Dikic lab comments: “For me as a medical doctor working in basic science this story represents the ideal case of explaining the pathophysiology of a disease by a collaborative effort across disciplines.” The exiting results are published in the latest issue of Nature Neuroscience and are put in perspective in an accompanying News and Views article.

Link to the artikel on Nature Neuroscience
Link to News and Views

9th April 2015
CEF Focus Project awarded to team of junior research group leaders

The CEF Macromolecular Complexes approved funding for the proposal of Masato Akutsu, Christian Behrends, Vladimir Rogov and Volker Dötsch on the spatio-temporal regulation of protein complexes by the family of human ATG8 proteins. By employing highly complementary structural, biophysical, biochemical and cell biological approaches this young team of researchers seeks to understand the role of the ubiquitin-like ATG8 proteins as reversible, membrane-bound scaffolds that help organizing protein and protein complexes spatially to control cellular pathways other than autophagy. The research program is supported with 300.000 Euro for two years starting June 2015.

Link to CEF Macromolecular Complexes

12th Feb 2015
Role of GABARAP proteins as signaling scaffolds in TIAM1-RAC1 signaling

Spatio-temporal control is critical for RAC1 signaling. In this week’s online issue of Molecular Cell the group of Dr. Christian Behrends report the identification of CUL3-KBTBD6/KBTBD7 as ubiquitin ligase that locally regulates the abundance of the guanine exchange factor TIAM1. Furthermore, membrane targeting of CUL3-KBTBD6/KBTBD7 is mediated by GABARAP proteins, thereby establishing functions of this subfamily of human ATG8 proteins beyond autophagy and membrane trafficking.

For the full article click here

5th Jan 2015
Fritz Thyssen Foundation supports autophagy research

Alexandra Stolz, postdoctoral researcher at IBCII, received a grant from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation to fund her proposed project on targeting the autophagy system. The research program is supported with 150.000 Euro over the next two years.
The Fritz Thyssen Foundation is an active supporter of basic science since more than 50 years, focusing especially on support for junior researchers.

Link to The Fritz Thyssen Foundation

6th Jan 2015
PLEKHM1: A Multifunctional Adaptor for the Endolysosomal System

As reported in this month’s issue of Molecular Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, an international team of researchers led by Prof. Ivan Dikic has shed light on the molecular function of the protein PLEKHM1, that has previously been shown to regulate bone density in humans and rats. The team has identified two novel functions for the protein that are important for human disease; firstly, facilitating the removal of toxic protein aggregates and preventing their accumulation, which is relevant for diseases such as Parkinson’s. Secondly, controlling the intracellular growth of invading pathogens such as Salmonella. Both studies provide insight into the molecular mechanisms of cellular processes with high relevance to human diseases, and give rise to potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Preview for Molecular cell article here
Molecular cell article here
Cell host & Microbe article here

2nd Jan 2015
Unprecedented insights into proton pumping

Cells convert the energy extracted from foodstuff into ATP, the universal currency of cellular energy. Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is carried out by five large enzyme complexes. The Zickermann group from Institute of Biochemistry 2 together with colleagues from the Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes in Frankfurt and from Freiburg University solved the 3D structure of mitochondrial complex I, the largest and most complex enzyme of this fundamental metabolic pathway. Complex I comprises more than 40 subunits and has a mass of almost 1 Mega-Dalton. Its major task is to pump protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane, thereby driving ATP synthesis. The exact mechanism, however, has remained elusive. In today?s issue of Science, the Zickermann group now reports new and exciting insights into the structure of this giant enzyme complex, explaining how it transmits the energy needed for proton pumping over quite a long range. The team was able to come up with a new model, by which a sequential formation of charged intermediates causes a concerted rearrangement of structural elements within the enzyme, thereby ultimately triggering proton translocation at the pump sites.

Link to article here

18th Dec 2014

Lina Herhaus receives an EMBO longterm postdoctoral fellowship

EMBO will fund her work that is focused on understanding the role of linear ubiquitylation in tumor stromal crosstalk.

29th Sep 2014
Revealing the cause of early onset liver cancer


A multidisciplinary, international team led by C. Kubisch (Ulm University), K. Ramadan (Oxford University), J. Terzic (Split University), D. Amor (University of Melbourne) and I. Dikic (Goethe University in Frankfurt) reports in today's online issue of Nature Genetics the discovery of a hitherto unknown mutation causing early onset liver cancer. Individuals carrying this mutation are highly likely to develop liver cancer during childhood, and also show multiple signs of premature aging. The mutation disrupts the function of a gene called SPRTN, resulting in accumulation of DNA damage during each cell division and subsequent chromosome instability. Ivan Dikic comments: "This is an excellent example of success of long term projects. It started more than 7 years ago, at the time focusing on Ub-dependent DNA repair pathways. Later, by serendipity, the results turned out to be critical for understanding the development of hepatocarcinoma. The project has attracted several collaborators around the world and only by closely collaborating we were able to successfully accomplish this task. It also shows why a certain stamina on the side of fund providers (7 years without a single publication) is essential for addressing big and important questions in biomedicine."

Link to article here

Link to press release here

25th Aug 2014
Ivan Dikic to become a Vallee Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School

Eddy Fischer (Nobel laureate in Medicine 1992) and Ivan Dikic at the Vallee Foundation symposium, Boston, 2014

The Vallee Foundation announced the appointment of six new Vallee Visiting Professors (VVPs), who will receive the resources to spend one month at a premier biomedical research institute of their choice. Besides Ivan Dikic, the award goes to Bonnie Bassler, Chris Dobson, Tyler Jacks, Thomas Shenk and Andreas Strasser this year. Since 1997, 47 VVPs have been appointed, and the program has been a great success in fostering intellectual exchange, building scientific partnerships and kicking off exciting new projects. Ivan Dikic will join Harvard Medical School in 2015 for his VVP sabbatical.

More info on the Vallee Foundation here
For ASBMB PDF click here

5th Aug 2014
Role for ARAF kinase in MAPK activation and Cell migration

RAF kinases are direct RAS effector proteins and upon activation they trigger the classical MAPK signaling pathway that control various fundamental cellular processes. RAF family comprises of ARAF, BRAF and CRAF of which ARAF remains understudied. In a cover story published this week in Science Signaling, Krishna Rajalingam's group demonstrate an obligatory role for ARAF kinase in mediating MEK1/2-ERK1/2 activation and tumour cell migration in a cell type dependent manner.

For the editors summary of Mooz et al please click here

For the full article click here
For podcast click here

21st Jul 2014
Krishnaraj Rajalingam wins a Heisenberg Professorship from the DFG

Krishnaraj Rajalingam, a group leader from IBCII and a BIF-PLUS3 fellow got selected for the prestigious W3 Heisenberg professorship in Cell Biology from the DFG. With this award he joins the Forschungszentrum für Immuntherapie (FZI) at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (JGU) to establish a cell biology unit. IBCII director Prof. Ivan Dikic congratulates Krishna on this accomplishment!

For the press release from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation click here

For the press release from the university of Mainz click here

10th Jul 2014
Novel role for ubiquitin in the physical and functional disassembly of a MAPK cascade
Mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a class of highly conserved family of protein kinases that control fundamental cellular processes like cell survival, migration and differentiation. The group of Krishna Rajalingam from IBCII, now discovers a novel role for ubiquitination in the inactivation of MEKK2/3-MEK5-ERK5 signaling pathway, thus adding another layer of regulation of MAPKs. They identify that two members of the inhibitors of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs) family, XIAP and cIAP1, directly bind and conjugate a unique type of ubiquitin chains to MEKK2 and MEKK3, which directly impairs the complex formation between MEK5 and ERK5 thus inactivating this signalling pathway. They further identify that XIAP negatively controls human myogenic differentiation by regulating the activation dynamics of ERK5-MAPK cascade. The observations by Takeda AN et al are now published in EMBOJ

For the full article please click here
For the HYS highlight by Klein and Cobb in EMBOJ please click here


12th Jun 2014
SUMO-mediated control of a histone-modifying complex
The group of Stefan Müller unraveled a novel facet of SUMO-regulated gene expression. They discovered that the SUMO-specific isopeptidase SENP3 is needed for proper activity of histone-modifying MLL1/2 complexes. Removal of SUMO2/3 from the MLL1/2 subunit RbBP5 is required for the activation of a subset of HOX genes, including the regulator of osteogenic differentiation DLX3. The importance of this pathway for cell differentiation was demonstrated in a human stem cell model.  The paper by Nayak et al. was published online in Molecular Cell on June, 12.
25th Apr 2014
HFSP Program Grant for IBC2
The International Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Organization announced this year's winners of the competition for one of the prestigious HFSP research grants. Amongst the awardees is the Dikic group, who together with the Sidhu group (Canada), the Komatsu group (Japan) and the Sander group (U.S.) will receive 1,35 M USD for the next 3 years. "This award considerably pushes autophagy research in Frankfurt, especially because it funds one of our most innovative projects. Within the next 3 years, we expect to gain a lot of knowledge about molecular targeting of the autophagy network", says Ivan Dikic, IBCII director. Read more
10th Apr 2014
The control of signaling in immunity and inflammation
The groups of Ivan Dikic and Masato Akutsu have moved closer in understanding how a novel form of protein modification, the linear ubiquitination, controls central pathways of immunity and inflammation. In a collaborative effort, they showed that the two enzymes responsible for assembling and disassembling linear ubiquitin chains are contained in one complex. By structural analysis, they managed to decipher the molecular details of the interaction between these two key enzymes and were able to show how the opposing activities of the complex are controlled. Their results are published in the current edition of Molecular Cell online.
2nd Feb 2014
Deciphering the molecular mechanisms behind the cell's power packs
Complex I is the largest enzyme of the respiratory chain, a fundamental metabolic pathway operating to supply the cell with energy. Dysfunction of complex I causes numerous neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases in humans. Combining biochemical and structural evidence the Zickermann group now succeeded in shedding light on the essential role of accessory subunit NB4M (NDUFA6/LYRM6) for complex I function. The results are published in the current early edition of the journal PNAS (Angerer et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.1322438111).
Read more
24th Jan 2014
IBC2 and BMLS appointing two new group leaders
In a joint effort, IBC 2 and the Buchmann Institute (BMLS) recruited two new group leaders: Dr Anja Bremm (left) who received a prestigious Emmy Noether Fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and Dr Masato Akutsu (right) who will be heading a group endowed by the Leibniz Prize awarded to Ivan Dikic by the DFG. Both groups will be located in the BMLS on Riedberg campus, Anja Bremm mainly concentrating on cellular signaling, and Masato Akutsu strengthening the structural biology platform.
Link to BMLS Website
22th Nov 2013
Structure of HOIP catalytic core solved
In collaboration with Katrin Rittinger at the MRC-NIMR in London, the Dikic group solved another molecular puzzle about the formation of specific Ubiquitin chains. In the current issue of Nature, they report the crystal structure of the catalytic core of HOIP, the critical enzymes involved in forming linear (Met1-linked) Ubiquitin chains. These chains are important regulators of cellular signalling, and knowing the molecular structure of the complexes involved is an important step forward to understanding how these pathways control innate immunity and inflammation.
Link to nature publication
19th Nov 2013
Who's most cited of them all?
In its recent issue, Laborjournal (LJ) publishes a citation analysis in the field of cell biology covering the period from 2007 to 2010. Instead of asking the mirror, LJ searched the database "Web of Science" for authors based in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Amongst the Top 5: IBC2 director Ivan Dikic with 1886 citations of 35 articles. One article from the Dikic lab made it under the Top 10 of most cited articles: the report about a role for the protein NBR1 in autophagy , published by Kirkin and collaborators 2009 in the journal Molecular Cell.
Link to article in Laborjournal
Link to Kirkin et al paper
30th Oct 2013
Bless the team work
It took years to develop, and the input of scientists from five countries: BLESS, a novel technology for mapping DNA breaks by next generation sequencing. The resulting publication in Nature Methods by Crosetto, Dikic, Rowicka, and many colleagues is now featured by Laborjournal.
Link to LJ article in German
Link to original artcle
Link to BLESS website
22th Oct 2013
LOEWE program Ub-Net recruitment drive
The LOEWE program Ubiquitin-Networks is a newly established interdisciplinary research network at the Goethe University which is led by Ivan Dikic.
The network recently received funding and is looking to recruit 1 Junior Group Leader, 1 Postdoc, and 12 PhD students. Deadline for applications is 7th November. Read full advertisement
16th Oct 2013
New Group Leader
The IBCII welcomes Dr. Andreas Ernst from University of Toronto as independent group leader.
The research of his newly established protein engineering group is focussed on generating intracellular tools to study various signaling pathways.

Read more about Andreas Ernst

25th Aug 2013
Award-winning cancer reseacher from Croatia

Read the full article here
Read more about Ivan Dikic

8th Jan 2013
Professor Ivan Dikic receives Ernst Jung Prize for medicine

8th January 2013. The Jung Foundation for Science and Research announced that Frankfurt professor Ivan Dikic will receive the Ernst Jung Prize 2013 for his groundbreaking work in understanding the role of Ubiquitin in cellular signal regulation. The prize is awarded with 150,000 euro and will be presented at a ceremony on 3rd May in Hamburg.

Press Release
Read more about Ivan Dikic

6th Dec 2012
Leibniz Prize 2013 for Frankfurt professor Ivan Dikic.

In recognition of his groundbreaking work in decrypting the Ubiquitin code, Ivan Dikic is to receive the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize 2013, Germany's most prestigious scientific award. The award is funded and presented by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It is the research prize with the highest endowment worldwide and comes with a grant of 2.5 M Euro.

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16th Oct 2012
Dr.Krishnaraj Rajalingam, an Emmy Noether Fellow from IBCII has been selected to be a PLUS3fellow of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation.

BIF will fund his research on Inhibitors of Apoptosis (IAPs) with a generous support of 825000 euros for the next three years.

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1st August 2012
2013 ASBMB William C. Rose Award goes to BMLS Director Ivan Dikic.

The Award honors the pioneering work of Ivan Dikic in understanding the Ubiquitin code, and his efforts in training and education of young scientists.

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18th June 2012
Seeing Ubiquitin chains in cells.

An international team of scientists led by IBCII director Ivan Dikic developed specific Ubiquitin biosensors for in vivo application. This approach might mark a major technical breakthrough in detection of Ubiquitin signals in living cells. It is published in today's online issue of Molecular Cell.

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10th May 2012
A novel mechanism regulating SUMO-dependent protein networks.

The covalent attachment of the ubiquitin-like modifier SUMO to proteins serves an important mechanism for the control of protein-protein interactions. This is generally mediated via recognition of a SUMO-conjugate by an interaction partner that contains a specific SUMO interaction module, termed SIM (SUMO interaction motif). A major question is how the dynamics of SUMO/SIM interactions are regulated. Recent work done by Rebecca Ullmann in Stefan Muller's group together with co-workers from the Lombardi Cancer Center in Washington now uncovered an acetyl-dependent switch that determines the selectivity and dynamics of SUMO-SIM interactions (Molecular Cell, online May 10, 2012). In this context they show that acetylation of SUMO within a basic interface prevents binding to SIMs in PML, Daxx, and PIAS. One the other hand, acetyl-SUMO specifically binds to the Bromodomain of the co-activator p300. This acetyl-dependent switch of SUMO-mediated protein interactions attenuates SUMO-regulated gene silencing and affects the assembly of PML nuclear bodies. This work thus unravels a novel interplay of post-translational modifications that expands the regulatory repertoire of SUMO signaling.
Original Article:
Ullmann R, Chien C D, Avantaggiati M L, Muller S (2012) An acetylation switch regulates SUMO-dependent protein interaction networks, Mol Cell, online May 10, 2012, DOI 10.1016/j.molcel.2012.04.006

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23th January 2012
Novel mechanism regulating cell shape and migration unveiled.
 Cell shape and migration are controlled by RhoGTPases, a family of small GTPases whose activation is controlled by nucleotide binding. Rac1 is an important member of this family and
studies from the Cell death Signalling group from IBCII has shed light into ubiquitin dependent inactivation of Rac1 signalling. New results just published in EMBOJ revealed an evolutionarily conserved role of Inhibitors of Apoptosis (IAPs) in directly regulating the ubiquitylation and degradation of Rac1. Thus loss of IAPs changes the shape and mode of migration in normal and tumour cells. IAPs also regulate the development of cerebellum during zebrafish development in a Rac1 dependent manner.

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24th October 2011
Interview with Prof. Dr. Dr. Ivan Dikic, director of the Frankfurt Institute of Molecular Life Sciences (FMLS)
If you were granted one wish for the advancement of your research projects, what would this be?
Well, I've always valued and emphasized a creative atmosphere. It not only means being surrounded by intelligent people, but also having enough time
to think. Not having countless administrative duties, committees, applying for funding, etc. Scientists need time to develop brilliant ideas that help address issues we normally would not have time to consider. So my wish would be that we scientists do not have to waste too much valuable time on administrative issues, but can dedicate ourselves to conducting research.

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13th September 2011
ERC Starting Grant awarded to Dr. Christian Behrends:
The ERC approved funding for his proposal on Xenophagy and bacterial avoidance (XABA). Briefly, microbial pathogens that successfully parasitize eukaryotic cells have evolved to evade autophagic microbial defenses (xenophagy) and subvert the host autophagic responses for their own survival and/or growth.
Central to xenophagy is cargo recognition and dynamic rearrangements of membrane-bound compartments to sequester and deliver pathogen load for lysosomal degradation. Microbial adaptation strategies identified to date have targeted both of these crucial and intertwining functions. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underpinning pathogen avoidance of host-cell autophagy and immune responses as well as their potential roles in microbial pathogenesis are only rudimentarily understood. The XABA project is funded with 1.600.000 Euro for five years starting January 2012.

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26th May 2011
New defense mechanism against Salmonella elucidated: infection with Salmonella, epithelial cells can get rid of the unwanted invader by a process called autophagy. In today's issue of the journal Science, an international group of scientists around IBC2 director Ivan Dikic describes how selectivity is achieved in this process.


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19th April 2011
A new Emmy Noether Fellow at the IBCII: Dr. Christian Behrends received the prestigious Emmy Noether Research Fellowship by the DFG. His independent group will be funded for three years with a perspective two3 years extension. The mammalian
autophagy signaling pathway is at the center of Dr. Behrends's research activities. In particular, he is interested in the dynamics of the autophagy interaction network under different physiological conditions

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31st March 2011 - A step towards understanding chronic dermatitis: An international team of scientists led by IBCII director Ivan Dikic discovered a novel role for the protein SHARPIN in immune signalling.
In today's issue of Nature, they show how SHARPIN stimulates formation of linearized ubiquitin chains, triggering activation of a central regulator of immune responses.

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1st Feb 2011 - IBCII is pleased to announce its new W2: Prof. Stefan Müller is appointed W2 professor in biochemistry at IBCII and will be an independant group leader for SUMO signaling group.

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1st Nov. 2010 - New group leader
Dr. Christian Behrends from Harvard Medical School in Boston will join IBCII as an independant group leader. He will establish the Autophagy signaling group.

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