The Füllekrug Lab

Subcellular compartmentalization of lipid metabolism

The overall focus of our lab is the intracellular sorting of membrane proteins and lipids, and the functional role of subcellular localization in the trafficking and metabolism of lipids. We are interested in particular how proteins and lipids are interacting to organize the transport and metabolism of fatty acids during the biogenesis of lipid droplets.

Formation of lipid droplets is an essential function of all eukaryotic cells, and the regulation processes involved are highly relevant for the development of obesity and diabetes type II. Biogenesis of lipid droplets starts with the uptake and activation of fatty acids, and we have been characterizing the proteins involved, in particular enzymes of the fatty acyl-CoA synthetase family.

Our model system are mammalian tissue culture cells which are manipulated by techniques of molecular biology, especially through the expression of mutated proteins designed to reveal functional aspects. We combine both microscopy and biochemistry for analysis.

Team

Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter/-innen

Wiss. Mitarbeiter/-innen

Johannes Heller, MD student

Early lipid droplet biogenesis

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Wentao Mo, M. Sc.

Perilipin-dependent lipid droplet biogenesis and turnover
supported by Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC)

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Nis Julius Sontag

Relevance of Perilipins for Lipotoxicity
Wenyue Tian, M.Sc.

Perilipin-3 mediated lipid droplet homeostasis and maturation
supported by the Landesgraduiertenförderung (LGF) Baden-Württemberg

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Former members - Alumni

Open positions

Two PhD positions are currently available to investigate the function of perilipin 3 in lipid droplet heterogeneity and metabolism.

Students of biochemistry (biology, chemistry, biomedicine) are welcome to join the lab for an experimental Master thesis.

All research is relevant for the molecular mechanism of pathogenic processes. The technical approaches comprise molecular biology (cloning, mutagenesis, RNA interference), microscopy (immunofluorescence, GFP, confocal analysis), and biochemistry (uptake assays, subcellular fractionation). Interested? Please contact our group leader.