Faculté des Sciences, des Technologies et de Médecine
Faculté de Droit, d’Économie et de Finance
Faculté des Sciences Humaines, des Sciences de l’Éducation et des Sciences Sociales
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
Luxembourg Centre for European Law
Luxembourg Centre for Socio-Environmental Systems
“Mitochondria as converging points in neuronal cell death”
Institute for Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Biochemical Pharmacological Center – BPC Marburg, Center for Mind Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg, Germany
Mitochondria are key organelles of energy metabolism and also important for maintenance of redox balance and Ca2+ homeostasis thereby determining cellular function and resilience. In addition, mitochondria are involved in mechanisms of regulated cell death, also through providing energy substrates and Ca2+ regulation, but, in addition, as a target of death signaling pathways and as a source of detrimental pro-apoptotic protein release. In processes of ageing, and in age-related neurodegenerative diseases, increasing accumulation of mitochondrial damage and according dysregulation of energy metabolism and redox regulation may significantly contribute to disease progression, neural dysfunction and degeneration. More recently, novel mechanisms of regulated cell death emerged which mediate cell death through oxidative cell death by ferroptosis or RIPK-dependent necroptosis, and these mechanisms of regulated necrosis are different from classic apoptosis. In the talk, the mechanisms of regulated necrosis will be linked to regulation of mitochondrial integrity and function showing that mitochondria can be regarded as key converging points integrating different mechanisms of regulated cell death with impact on neurodegeneration in vitro and in vivo. Further, mitochondria are revealed as promising targets for neuroprotective strategies which include metabolic approaches that support neuronal maintenance and may also affect neuro-inflammatory processes.
Biographical sketch – Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Carsten Culmsee
Institute for Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Marburg, Germany
Professor Carsten Culmsee is Professor for Clinical Pharmacy and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Marburg, Germany, and Visiting Professor at the University of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China. He graduated at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Marburg and received his Dr. rer. nat. degree in 1997. After a postdoctoral term at the Sanders Brown Research Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA (1999-2000) and a position as a group leader and lecturer at the University of Marburg (2000-2003) and the Centre of Drug Research, University of Munich, Germany (2003-2007) he returned in 2007 to the University of Marburg as a full professor for Clinical Pharmacy.
His research focus is on the regulation of mitochondrial integrity and function in paradigms of programmed cell death, inflammatory processes and metabolic impairment contributing to neuronal dysfunction and death in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, in ischemic brain damage, and in psychiatric diseases. He investigates molecular and cellular mechanisms of metabolic and oxidative dysregulation that trigger disruption of the intracellular calcium homeostasis, ER-stress, mitochondrial damage, bioenergetic failure and neuro-inflammatory responses. He reveals and validates neurobiological determinants and novel therapeutic targets in human diseases of the nervous system including therapeutic strategies with genetic and pharmacological approaches, including defined plant extracts. In addition to the experimental work in the laboratory he also leads a group of Clinical Pharmacy where he guides research in the clinic and in public pharmacies on contribution of pharmacists in drug safety and interprofessional patient care.
He is vice director of the Center of Mind, Brain and Behavior -CMBB, of the Biochemical-Pharmacological Center –BPC Marburg, Marburg University Research Academy –MARA, the Institute of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Marburg, and director of the Project division for Mitochondrial Mechanisms of Neuronal Processes. He is member in several national and international scientific societies of Pharmacology, Neurosciences and Cell death, and he is editorial board member of the journals Apoptosis, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology; Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Mitochondrion, Journal of Neurochemistry and Journal of Neuroscience.
Weblinks:
http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb16/ipkp/gruppen/ag_culmsee
https://www.cmbb-fcmh.de/de/forschung/mitglieder/carsten-culmsee