The relevance of helicase activity for genome stability changes within small cell lung cancer (B06*)

• Subject Area: Biochemistry ; Cell Biology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 413326622

We invited K. Paeschke brings in complementary expertise related to chromatin alterations and offers the potential to dive deeply into the enzymatic mechanisms driving chromatin states. Together with her team, she aims to uncover the role of the helicases PIF1 and DHX36 in SCLC biology. They observed high expression of these enzymes in SCLC, which was correlated with high TERT levels and are now planning to determine their involvement in telomere maintenance. Furthermore, because of their physiological role in unwinding G4 complexes, they will work to establish a causative link between these enzymes and the observed epigenetic changes.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1399: Mechanisms of drug sensitivity and resistance in small cell lung cancer
• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Project Head: Professorin Dr. Katrin Paeschke, since 7/2023