Expertise
The Honigmann group uses fluorescence imaging, in vitro reconstitution and organotypic tissue culture to study the supramolecular organization and function of cell-cell interfaces 1,2. They discovered that the formation of tight junctions is driven by surface condensation of ZO scaffold proteins with adhesion receptors at cell-cell contacts3,4. Structural analysis suggests that surface condensation leads to the assembly of an ordered mesoscale structure made of molecular layers of receptors, scaffolds, adapters and the cytoskeleton. Within the framework of the RTG, the Honigmann group will combine molecular reconstitutions and single molecule imaging with polymer physics to study how the surface condensation of scaffold proteins couples to conformational changes of proteins that are important for cortex regulation.
References:
- Maraspini, Honigmann et al. Optimization of 2D and 3D cell culture to study membrane organization with STED microscopy. J Phys Appl Phys. 2019;53(1):014001.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6463/ab45df
- Mukenhirn, Honigmann et al. Tight junctions control lumen morphology via hydrostatic pressure and junctional tension. Dev Cell. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2024.07.016
- Beutel, Honigmann et al. Phase Separation of Zonula Occludens Proteins Drives Formation of Tight Junctions. Cell. 2019;179(4):923-936.e11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.10.011
- Pombo-García, Honigmann et al. Membrane prewetting by condensates promotes tight junction belt formation. Nature. 2024; 632, 647–655. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07726-0
- Sun, Honigmann et al. Assembly of tight junction belts by surface condensation and actin elongation. bioRxiv. Published online 2023. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.06.24.546380