Fe-S Protein and Immune response

We demonstrated the importance of various iron-sulfur (Fe-S) proteins function in the immune system coining the term bioinorganic immunology, an emerging field investigating the function of metalloenzyme and specifically Fe-S proteins in the immune system.​​

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We are investigating the function of different Fe-S proteins including hSAND (human radical-SAM dependent nucleotide dehydratase) (also known as viperin) and mitochondrial outer membrane mitoNEET. We are investigating how Fe-S enzymes like hSAND are activated inside cells and investigate the reaction of Fe-S clusters in these proteins with O2 and gasotransmitters like nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). We have recently discover a potentially new mechanism by which hypoxia is sensed by O2 protection of mitoNEET [2Fe-2S] cluster.

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We are applying a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular biology, cell biological techniques, metabolomics, biophysical techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and computational biochemistry. Our main collaborators are Prof. Maria Andrea Mroginski (TU Berlin), Dr Maxie Roessler (Imperial College London), Dr Peter-Leon Hagedoorn (TU Delft), Dr Yvain Nicolet (ibs) and Prof Simone Ciofi-Baffoni (University of Florence & CERM). ​​​​