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| Faculty |
Matthias Majetschak, M.D., Ph.D. |
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Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery and
The Burn & Shock Trauma Institute
M.D., Ph.D., University of Essen, Germany
Interests: Intra-
and extracellular functions of the ubiquitin proteasome system
after injury and during inflammation
The ubiquitin proteasome
pathway of protein degradation is the principal non-lysosomal
proteolytic system in all eukaryotic cells and intimately
involved in the regulation of protein function and quality
control. In addition, covalent modification of proteins with
ubiquitin (=ubiquitylation) is the second most common
posttranslational modification following phosphorylation.
Ubiquitylation either labels the target protein for
degradation by the 26S proteasome or reversibly regulates
the target protein’s function. Current research in Dr.
Majetschak’s laboratory is focused on the role of the
intracellular ubiquitin proteasome pathway during the local
and systemic response to injury and infection, and on
unconventional functions of ubiquitin proteasome pathway
components outside the cell. Ongoing biochemical and
proteome analyses are aimed to define how the intracellular
ubiquitin proteasome system is regulated in response to
tissue damage and infection, and to understand its
contribution to the development of hypermetabolism, protein
wasting and disturbed cell function which frequently occur
in response to severe trauma, shock and sepsis in patients.
These studies are expected to lead to the identification of
new molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.
Furthermore, recent studies by Dr. Majetschak’s laboratory
identified extracellular ubiquitin as a molecule with
profound anti-inflammatory properties in-vitro and
in-vivo. We showed that extracellular ubiquitin is
involved in the regulation of leukocyte function after
trauma and sepsis in patients and that ubiquitin’s
in-vivo effects can be used therapeutically. Current
studies are aimed to further delineate its therapeutic
applicability and to identify its molecular mechanism of
action.
Representative
Publications:
View a partial list of
Dr.
Majetschak's publications through the National
Library of Medicine's PubMed online database.
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