Prof. Dr. Dr. med. vet. Michael Hottiger

Area of Research

Description of Research Interest

My laboratory is interested to understand the molecular regulatory mechanisms of inflammation. While inflammation at large is a beneficial event for the organism, excessive activation or inappropriate regulation of immune and inflammation cascades cause tissue and cellular damage, which may lead to cellular dysfunction and cell death.

We investigate inflammatory signaling (e.g. oxidative stress) with special focus on the role of post-translations modifications (PTM) such as ADP-ribosylation in the regulation of inflammation. PTMs of proteins are thought to contribute to the observed complexity of cellular processes in animal and man. PTMs may help to explain the differences between e.g. worm and man, considering that the number and the nucleotide sequences of genes is rather comparable among animal species.

We and others identified protein ADP-ribosylation as a crucial process in the cellular response to detrimental stimuli, be it through genotoxicity, oxidative or metabolic stress, or excessive inflammation. We study the patterns of ADP-ribosylation using cutting-edge systems biology approaches such as ADP-ribosyl-specific high-resolution and quantitative mass spectrometry that we developed in house or in collaboration with various colleagues worldwide. Furthermore, we investigate the players involved, such as writers, readers and eraser of ADP-ribosylation, as well as their target proteins that carry this PTM using state-of-the-art proteomics methods.

Special Expertise

Inflammation
NF-kappaB gene expresssion
Chromatin
Protein ADP-ribosylation
Histone modification