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Research Focus

Keywords

  • Ageing
  • Aggregate-Prone Proteins
  • Aggregation
  • Alpha Synuclein
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • iPSC-Neurons
  • Machine Learning
  • Exocytosis
  • Endocytosis
  • Synapse
  • Synaptic Vesicle Recycling
  • Calcium Imaging
  • Lewy Body Dementia
  • Imaging
  • Protein Phase Separation
  • Protein-Lipid Interaction
  • Molecular Mechanisms
  • Clinical Conditions

  • Parkinson's disease
  • Lewy body dementia
  • Equipment & Techniques

  • Cell culture
  • Calcium imaging
  • Microscopy
  • Recombinant protein expression
  • Science Culture

  • Public Engagement
  • Women in Neuroscience
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    Dr Janin Lautenschlager

    University Position
    Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow
    Dr Janin Lautenschlager is pleased to consider applications from prospective PhD students.

    Interests

    Alpha-Synuclein in Health and Disease - Our mission is to unravel the intricate biological regulation of membrane-less organelles at the synapse. The functioning of neuronal synapses is crucial for the communication between neurons and dysregulation has been implicated in various neurological disorders. Alpha-synuclein is a presynaptic protein which has garnered attention due to its involvement in the formation of protein aggregates. These are known as Lewy bodies and are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Recent research suggests that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the subsequent formation of condensates could play a critical role for the function alpha-synuclein as well as its aggregation. To gain a comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon, it is essential to understand how alpha-synuclein phase separation is regulated within its biological context. Combining in-vitro biochemical studies, cellular phase separation assays and super-resolution imaging in the lamprey reticulospinal giant synapse model we delve into the principles of synapse compartmentalization, studying alpha-synuclein function and dysfunction in disease.

    Key Publications

    VAMP2 regulates phase separation of a-synuclein

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-024-01451-6
    Journal: Nature Cell Biology
    Year: 2024
    Authors: Aishwarya Agarwal, Aswathy Chandran, Farheen Raza, Irina-Maria Ungureanu , Christine Hilcenko, Katherine Stott, Nicholas A. Bright, Nobuhiro Morone, Alan J. Warren, and Janin Lautenschläger

    Protein phase separation hotspots at the presynapse

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsob.210334
    Journal: Open Biology
    Year: 2022
    Authors: Janin Lautenschläger

    Publications

    α-Synuclein – Regulator of Exocytosis, Endocytosis, or Both?

    DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcb.2017.02.002
    Journal: Trends Cell Biol
    E-pub date: 1 Jul 2017
    Authors: J Lautenschläger, CF Kaminski, GS Kaminski Schierle

    C-terminal calcium binding of α-synuclein modulates synaptic vesicle interaction

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03111-4 |
    Journal: Nature Communications
    Year: 2018
    Authors: Janin Lautenschläger, Amberley D. Stephens, Giuliana Fusco, Florian Ströhl, Nathan Curry, Maria Zacharopoulou, Claire H. Michel, Romain Laine, Nadezhda Nespovitaya, Marcus Fantham, Dorothea Pinotsi, Wagner Zago, Paul Fraser, Anurag Tandon, Peter St George-Hyslop, Eric Rees, Jonathan J. Phillips, Alfonso De Simone, Clemens F. Kaminski & Gabriele S. Kaminski Schierle