Prof. Dr. D. Manstein

Dietmar J. Manstein

PhD 1986 Heidelberg, 1987-90 Postdoctoral work at Stanford University School of Medicine

1990-96 MRC Group Leader at the National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK. 

1996-2002 Senior Scientist at the Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research

Since 2002 Director of the Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (OE 4350) and the Laboratory for Structure Analysis (OE 8830) at Hannover Medical School

 
Cell Biology and Biophysics of Molecular Motors

The objective of my work is the identification and characterization of molecular motors and proteins that regulate dynamic changes of cytoskeletal and membranous structures. The coordinated generation of movement and force is essential for basic processes such as cell division, phagocytosis, chromosome segregation, muscle contraction, and axonal transport. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying motile events is of significance with respect to health related issues, such as cell-mediated immune response, wound healing, and the invasion of healthy tissue by malignant tumour cells.

Using transient kinetics in combination with cell biological, molecular genetic, and structural approaches, current work has led to the complete structural and functional characterization of several unconventional myosins, dynamin-related proteins, and regulators of small GTPases. The development of a high through-put method for the determination of atomic structures by X-ray crystallography is in progress.
Projects

• Molecular engineering principles are applied to generate molecular motors with specifically altered properties.
• Single molecule approaches are used for the identification of interacting proteins and for the development of new in vitro assay systems for cytoskeletal proteins and proteins involved in membrane trafficking.
• Determination of the X-ray structure of full length dynamin and improvement of the current EM reconstructions of the dynamin ring complex by the use of cryo-methods.
• Characterisation of the role of molecular motors in cell adhesion and the formation of cell surface extensions
• Determination of the X-ray structures of myosins, actin-binding proteins, DNA-binding proteins and complexes formed by these proteins.
• Quantum-Mechanical modelling of the acto-myosin ATPase cycle
• High-resolution imaging of subcellular structures using 4 Pi-microscopy

 
Contact:

Prof. Dr. Dietmar J. Manstein
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, OE4350
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1
D-30625 Hannover
Tel: +49-511-532-3700
Fax: +49-511-532-5966
email: manstein.dietmarmh-hannover.de