Project Details
Projekt
Funktionelle Charakterisierung der alpha7beta1 Integrin bindenden Proteine
Applicant
Privatdozent Dr. Viktor Wixler, Ph.D.
Subject Area
Dermatology
Term
from 2002 to 2004
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5393673
Only well anchored muscle cells are able to contract in a controlled and persistent fashion. Besides the dystroglycan receptor, a7b1-integrin represents the major receptor on muscles that provide attachment to the basement membrane. Furthermore, the a7b1-integrin receptor is essential for embryonic development as well as secondary regeneration of muscles. Functional inactivation of a7b1-integrin receptor, either spontaneously (mutations in human) or artificially (knock-out in mice), leads to severe muscular dystrophy. While the dystroglycan receptor is still expressed in these tissues, it does not functionally replace the missing integrins and does not rescue the a7b1-mediated defects. To gain more insight into the particular function of the muscle-specific a7b1-integrin receptor, we intend to identify cytoplasmic proteins that bind the two alternatively spliced variants (a7A and a7B) of the integrin-a7-subunit. Using the yeast two-hybrid system we are going to screen a human cDNA library for a7A- and a7B-associating proteins. The interaction analyses of them with a7b1 should give a better understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying the properties of a7b1 as a mechanoreceptor as well as shed light onto how a7b1 regulates other cellular properties by functioning as a signaling receptor.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
