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Viruses are small parasites, which are strictly dependent on a plethora of cellular functions and activities for their successful replication and propagation. Many of these virus-host cell interactions are still unknown or not yet fully defined. Our group is dedicated to filling this knowledge gap by detailed structural and functional analysis of processes ranging from invasion of the host cell and intracellular growth to virion assembly and release, using picornaviruses as model systems. These are small ribonucleic acid (RNA)-containing particles, which can cause serious morbidities and even death in infected species. Well know examples are polio-, rhino-, coxsackie- and foot-and-mouth disease virus. For many representatives vaccines are not available; therapeutic targeting of host interactions is thus an emerging alternative for treating picornaviral infections. We expect that our work will also result in the discovery of new anti-viral drug targets for combatting these pathogens.
We use a combination of biochemical, biophysical and molecular biological tools to study the pathobiology of a various picornaviruses, mostly in 2-D tissue culture models. Gradient rate zonal centrifugation, electron microscopy (EM) including single particle cryo-EM, and fluorescence spectroscopy methods are employed to qualitatively and quantitatively assess virus morphogenesis and uncoating. Recently we have introduced bio-orthogonal (“click”) chemistry to investigate the role of a fatty acid modification of a picornaviral structural protein. Selective 2′ Hydroxyl Acylation analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE) analysis has been implemented to elucidate the secondary structure organization of the viral RNA genome and its relevance for virus infectivity. By using pharmacological inhibitors, siRNA, CRISPR/Cas9 and RNA cross-linking/mass spectrometry we plan to identify novel host factors essential for replication of various members of this large family of small RNA viruses.
Heinrich Kowalski obtained a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Vienna, Austria. He then went to the USA for postdoctoral research at the Stanford Medical School. Heinrich subsequently joined the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Pathology followed by his moving to the Department for Medical Biochemistry. Since 2014 he runs a virology research group at the Max Perutz Labs.
In tight collaboration with the Blaas group at the Max Perutz Labs we have found that the RNA genome of human rhinovirus 2, a prototypic picornavirus, in vivo exits its protective capsid shell presumably through a pore at the two-fold axis with the 3´ end first. This sheds new light on the viral uncoating process and the still rather elusive spatial organization of the RNA genome in the virion.
We recently demonstrated the importance of the fatty myristic acid modification of the capsid protein VP4 in multiple stages of the coxsackievirus B3 infection cycle. Using a highly specific inhibitor of the host enzyme N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) responsible for this modification, we extended the finding to a number of other picornaviruses, uncovering NMT as a potential new drug target.
In a concerted effort with other research teams we have developed a new procedure for producing rhinovirus at high purity. The process incorporates a monolithic ion exchange chromatography as a final polishing step to successfully eliminate contaminants from virions as prerequisite for their use in ultrasensitive biophysical analysis such as single molecule fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.
The Rhinovirus Subviral A-Particle Exposes 3'-terminal Sequences of its Genomic RNA.
Harutyunyan, Shushan; Kowalski, Heinrich; Blaas, Dieter
Viral Uncoating Is Directional: Exit of the Genomic RNA in a Common Cold Virus Starts with the Poly-(A) Tail at the 3′-End.
Harutyunyan S, Kumar M, Sedivy A, Subirats X, Kowalski H, Koehler G, Blaas D
Capillary Electrophoresis, Gas-Phase Electrophoretic Mobility Molecular Analysis, and Electron Microscopy: Effective Tools for Quality Assessment and Basic Rhinovirus Research.
Victor U. Weiss, Xavier Subirats, Mohit Kumar, Shushan Harutyunyan, Irene Gösler, Heinrich Kowalski, Dieter Blaas
This research is funded by the FWF Grant (P27196-B13);
Project title: "Uncoating of rhinovirus RNA: Structure & Protein Interactions"
and the FWF Grant (P 23308-B13);
Project title: "Identification and characterization of the human rhinovirus type C receptor(s)" shared with Dr. Blaas.
Genomic adaptation in red algae
Speaker: Hwan Su YoonInstitute: Sungkyunkwan University, KoreaHost: Fred Berger
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TERIYAPIROM Isaree (Koo), NAVA GARCIA Marintia Mayola (Dagdas), AYALA MUNOZ Farja (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Protein synthesis programs the development and evolution of neuronal diversity
Speaker: Matthew KrausharInstitute: MPI for Molecular Genetics, BerlinHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: OTSUKI Leo (Tanaka), LEITNER Marie-Christin (Mendjan), SEONG Jinwoo (Rivron)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Mark DawsonInstitute: Peter MacCallum Cancer CentreHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HOLZMANN Viktoria (Rivron), LEV Itamar (Zimmer), HODAKOVA Zuzana (Haselbach)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Developmental flexibility to keep pace with a changing world
Speaker: Dominique BergmannInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Liam Dolan
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BABADEI Olga (Decker), KELLNER Max Josef (Penninger), DENEKE Victoria (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Role of the centromere in genetic self/non-self discrimination in yeasts
Speaker: Yves BarralInstitute: ETH ZurichHost: Shotaro Otsuka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TAKACS Zsuzsanna (Gerlich), DE LA CONCEPCION Juan Carlos (Dagdas), FEDL Anna (Busslinger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease and the Preimplantation Window
Speaker: Sophie PetropoulosInstitute: Karolinska InstitutetHost: Nicolas Rivron
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GALLI Lucrezia (Tanaka), HORN Sabrina (Peters), JACOBS Jelle (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Richard FlavellInstitute: Yale University School of MedicineHost: Meinrad Busslinger
Next Generation of 3D Cell Culture, Magnetic 3D Cell Culture and Bioprinting
Speaker: Glauco SouzaInstitute: Greiner Bio-One North AmericaHost: Greiner Bio-One
Mechanisms of folding and assembly of newly synthesized proteins
Speaker: Bernd BukauInstitute: ZMBHHost: Elif Karagäz
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: POPOVA Mariia (Peters), RITSCHKA Birgit (Tanaka), DOMBEY Rodolphe (Mari-Ordonez)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: INCARBONE Marco (Mittelsten Scheid), GRUNDMANN Lorenz (Haselbach), NEMCKO Filip (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TELONI Federico (Gerlich), WALLNER Eva-Sophie (Dolan), PUSHPA BOSE Greeshma (Urban)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LIU Haijun (Nordborg), NAVALAYE Tsimafei (Ameres), NAAS Julia (Von Haeseler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Regulation of protein biogenesis in health and disease
Speaker: Danny NedialkovaInstitute: MPI of BiochemistryHost: Clemens Plaschka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: CHUGUNOVA Anastasia (Pauli), RÖTZER Johannes (Dolan), JONSSON Gustav (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KLAUS Loni (Stark), BENEDUM Johannes (Slade), LITTLEBOY Jamie (Knoblich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Daniel MucidaInstitute: Rockefeller UniversityHost: Meinrad Busslinger
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ANTONIOLI Sumire (Leonard), LI Chong (Knoblich), PABST Gabriel (Zuber)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lacra BintuInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Alex Stark
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DIEZMA Laura (Nordborg/Mari-Ordonez), GHOSH Dipannita (Grade), PATEL Rajvi (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be annouced
Speaker: Adele MarstonInstitute: Wellcome Centre Cell Biology, University of EdinburghHost: Daniel Gerlich, Joao Matos
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KORDIC Darja (Clausen), DEIBER Sebastian (Dolan), GEHRE Maja (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZMAJKOVIC Jakub (Zuber), MAURER Eric (Peters), NOGALES MORAL Adrian (Köhler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HUETTER Christiane (Menche), BASSAT Elad (Tanaka), PETRZILEK Jan (Ameres)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KALIS Robert (Zuber), NAJM Ramsey (Knoblich), GEROCZ Emoke (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AUGUSTO Pedro (Zimmer), POLISSENI Claudio (Tanaka), ELEWAUT Anais (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GUO Pin (Dolan), DAO Pauline (Tessmar), JAVALI Alok(Rivron)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STUART Hannah (Tanaka), KORESHOVA Alevtina (Burga), ZHAN Ni (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: CRONIN Shona (Obenauf), KANNO Tatsuo (Berger), PACHINGER Claudia (Dammermann)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Laurent NguyenInstitute: University of LiegeHost: Noelia Urban
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHUKLA Vikas (Berger), RODRIGUEZ TERRONES Diego (Tanaka), WIDEN Sonya (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VOICHEK Yoav (Norborg), SESTINI Giovanni (Rivron), PETROULAKI Vasiliki (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BRUNNER Hanna (Haselbach), FRIDRICH Arie (Berger), AKULOVA Vasilina (Swarts)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DE SANTIS Martina (Rivron), BUENDIA Daniel (Mari-Ordonez), VISANPATTANASIN Supapat (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ron DrorInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: David Haselbach
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VOJTEK Matus (Stark), LEHMANN Christian (Knoblich), LEE Du-Hwa (Belkhadir)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Petra SchwilleInstitute: MPI of BiochemistryHost: Alwin Köhler
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SPICER Maximilian (Gerlich), ESTIVILL I CAPAAROS Guillem (Obenauf), MURPHY Paul (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Imaging processes of cell division across scales
Speaker: Jan EllenbergInstitute: EMBL HeidelbergHost: Shotaro Otsuka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JÄGER Christina (Van der Veeken), PRADHAN Saurabh (Rivron), RAFANEL Baptiste (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BELACIC Katarina (Haselbach), HARVEY Zachary (Berger), MILOJKOVIC Lidija (Urban)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GOMEZ SEGALAS Alba (Balzarotti), KOLESNIKOVA Sofia (Gerlich), HANDLER Dominik (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Dirk InzeInstitute: VIBHost: Andreas Bachmair
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ian HicksonInstitute: University of CopenhagenHost: Joao Matos
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BAUCELLS Julia (Dammermann), PANAROTTO-PERICLES Melanie (Peters), VOICHEK Maya Shinan (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Maria LlorensInstitute: CBMHost: Noelia Urban
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DMITRIEV Vladimir (Goloborodko), HISANAGA Tetsuya (Berger), KHALDIEH Nina (Ameres)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SOMMER Theresa (Rivron), SHIRZADIAN YAZD Mehrta (Balzarotti), VERTESY Abel (Knoblich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: POLIKARPOVA Anastasia (Tanaka), CHAKRABORTY Oisorjo (Grade), CORSI Flavia (Goloborodko)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: FESSELET Jeanne (Kovarik), KHAURATOVIC Uladzislava (Matos/Golobordko), SHEN Jingyi (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Roger GeigerInstitute: Institute for Research in Biomedicine, BellinzonaHost: Joris Van der Veeken
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PERNEBRINK Mattias (Tanaka), HOHMANN Ulrich (Brennecke/Plaschka), MANOLOVA Toni (Falk)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: WU Shuangyang (Dolan), SCARAMUZZA Federico (Tessmar), KROGULL Daniel (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Joanna WysockaInstitute: Stanford School of MedicineHost: Christa Bücker
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HEIDARI KHOEI Heidar (Rivron), BELL Caelan (Gerlich), GALUSKA Philipp (Djinovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Daniele CanzioInstitute: UCSFHost: Anton Goloborodko
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ABDRAKHMANOV Alibek (Dagdas), WILLIAMS Thomas (Clausen), GEISMANN Maximilian (Balzarotti)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JELENIC Stela (Saha), PACHECO FIALLOS Franics Belen (Plaschka), FONTES OLIVEIRA Tiago Manuel (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: NAGUMO WONG Sakurako (Knoblich), LORENZO ORTS Laura (Pauli), ROSS James (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAFFL Gerald (Ameres), SAJTOS Bettina (Zuber), ISHIHARA Keisuke (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STEINACKER Thomas (Gerlich), EDER Stephanie (Zimmer), TIKANOVA Polina (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SCHELLHAAS Ulla (Plaschka/Ameres), RUSCH Emma (Goloborodko), CLAVEL Marion (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RADHAKRISHNA PILLAI Balashankar (Saha), ADELMANN Leonie (Raible), BLAHA Andreas (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VULIN Milica (Obenauf), MEREITER Stefan (Penninger), BINDL Michael (Leeb)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LORBEER Franziska (Stark), MULVEY Hugh (Dolan), PÜHRINGER Florian (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HOLZER Elisabeth (Martens), COLOZZA Gabriele (Koo), FALCON CHAVEZ Francisco (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RÖHSNER Josef (Pauli), OKUN Anastasia (Karagöz), JUNG Pauline (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LICHT-MAYER Simon (Penninger), CAYGILL Samuel (Dolan), MIGOTTI Mario (Konrat)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Feng ShaoInstitute: National Institute of Biological Sciences, BeijingHost: Pavel Kovarik
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHUNMUGAM Dhanlakshmi (Baccarini), CECI GINISTRELLI Lavinia (Mendjan), VORLÄNDER Matthias (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lydia FinleyInstitute: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOK Jian Yi (Berger), HUMER Theresa (Pauli), SODERHOLM Adrian (Versteeg)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STRAVS Ana (Knoblich), SANCHEZ DE MEDINA HERNANDEZ Victor (Dagdas), KRUMWIEDE Luisa (Gaidt)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TAVERINI Katherina (Urban), SHETTY Kavya Krishna (Stark), CORIC Aida (Tessmar)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Nancy KlecknerInstitute: Harvard UniversityHost: Franz Klein
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GRABARCZYK Daniel (Clausen), PROTELL I DE MONTSERRAT Julia (Brennecke/Plaschka), MANCHENO JUNCOSA Estela (Mendjan)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Edward LemkeInstitute: IMB MainzHost: David Haselbach
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ATTRILL Sarah (Dolan), UIJTTEWAAL Esther (Elling), SCIBISZ Grzegorz (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DOLESCHALL Balint (Knoblich), FENG Sonjie (Bücker), BOURGUET Pierre (Berger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HORENKAMP Simone (Tanaka), CASEY Chloe (Dolan), KAPRAL Thomas (Zagrovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOBAKHIDZE George (Dong), ANGELOPOULOU Eleni (Ellis), PACHANO Tomas (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAMIREZ America (Köhler), VÖLKL Isabella (Bücker), HOANG Oi Pui (Technau)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Mounia LaghaInstitute: Institut de Genetique Moleculaire de MontpellierHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LEITNER Moritz (Martinez), VOGEL Alexander (Yudushkin), KETTEL Paulina (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TSAREV Aleksandr (Ameres), FIESELER Charlie (Zimmer), ABESAMIS Kim Ivan (Dong)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STREUBEL Susanna (Dolan), KLEIFELD Justus (Urban), ORLIC Lucija (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHULKINA Alexandra (Versteeg), GEETHA Sowmya (Jantsch), MADHUSUDHANAN Jalaja (Zimmer)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOLLER Manuela (Campbell), GUPTA Ankit (Goloborodko), SCHMÖLLERL Johannes (Zuber)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MARCHIORI Elisa (Van der Veeken), ACHLEITNER Anja (Martens), FAAS Victoria (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SALEWSKIJ Kirill (Penninger), KIRCHGATTERER Paul (Gaidt), REN Kaike (Otsuka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MIHAILOVIC Milica (Karagöz), BELL Lillie (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
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