The Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (ZMNH), founded in 1988, is an internationally recognized molecular neuroscience research center, part of the

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (german: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)) is the teaching hospital of the University of Hamburg and the largest hospital in Hamburg, Germany. The UKE has 1,738 beds and 121 day-care pl ...

(UKE),

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Headed by Matthias Kneussel, the ZMNH is currently home to 190 scientists and staff from 20 different countries (2022). ZMNH

Research

The focus of the ZMNH is basic research in

neurobiology Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...

and

neuroimmunology Neuroimmunology is a field combining neuroscience, the study of the nervous system, and immunology, the study of the immune system. Neuroimmunologists seek to better understand the interactions of these two complex systems during development, home ...

, combining

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

with anatomical, biochemical and physiological approaches. The ZMNH is structured into six departments and several independent research groups. Departments/Institutes * Medical Systems Biology (Stefan Bonn) * Neuroimmunology and

Multiple Sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

(Manuel A. Friese) * Developmental

Neurophysiology Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...

(Ileana Hanganu-Opatz) * Molecular

Neurogenetics Neurogenetics studies the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system. It considers neural characteristics as phenotypes (i.e. manifestations, measurable or not, of the genetic make-up of an individual), and is mainly bas ...

(Matthias Kneussel) * Molecular and Cellular

Cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

(Dietmar Kuhl) * Synaptic Physiology (Thomas G. Oertner) * Neural Information Processing (Stefano Panzeri) * Systems Immunology (Immo Prinz) Independent Research Groups * Molecular

Neurooncology Neuro-oncology is the study of brain and spinal cord neoplasms, many of which are (at least eventually) very dangerous and life-threatening (astrocytoma, glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, ependymoma, pontine glioma, and brain stem tumors are amon ...

(Julia Neumann) * Neuronal Development (Froylan Calderon de Anda) * Neuronal and Cellular Signal Transduction (Meliha Karsak) *

Behavioral Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...

Biology Unit (Fabio Morellini) * Experimental Neuropediatrics (Axel Neu) Guest Groups * Dendritic Organelles and Synaptic Function (Michael Kreutz) * Neuronal Protein Transport (Marina Mikhaylova) * Synaptic Wiring and Information Processing (J. Simon Wiegert) * Fraunhofer IME ScreeningPort (Ole Pless) Research is supported by in-house facilities for bioanalytics, morphology and

ultrastructure Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a co ...

transgenic A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...

animals, machine shop, IT department, and administration

Major discoveries

Several proteins that are key to ''synaptic function'' were first cloned and characterized at the ZMNH, for example the presynaptic proteins Piccolo (

PCLO Protein piccolo is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PCLO'' gene. Function Synaptic vesicles dock and fuse in the active zone of the plasma membrane at chemical synapses. The presynaptic cytoskeletal matrix (PCM), which is associated ...

) and Bassoon and the major organizer of the

postsynaptic Chemical synapses are biological junctions through which neurons' signals can be sent to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in muscles or glands. Chemical synapses allow neurons to form circuits within the central nervous sys ...

density,

PSD-95 PSD-95 (postsynaptic density protein 95) also known as SAP-90 (synapse-associated protein 90) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''DLG4'' (discs large homolog 4) gene. PSD-95 is a member of the membrane-associated guanylate kinase T ...

(a.k.a. SAP90). Synaptic activity controls the activity of certain genes, the so-called

immediate early gene Immediate early genes (IEGs) are genes which are activated transiently and rapidly in response to a wide variety of cellular stimuli. They represent a standing response mechanism that is activated at the transcription level in the first round of ...

s. Arg3.1/

Arc ARC may refer to: Business * Aircraft Radio Corporation, a major avionics manufacturer from the 1920s to the '50s * Airlines Reporting Corporation, an airline-owned company that provides ticket distribution, reporting, and settlement services * ...

, a prominent example of this gene family, was discovered at the ZMNH and found to have important functions in learning and memory. An early focus of the center was understanding the structure and function of ''ion channels''. The famous 'ball-and-chain' mechanism of

potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...

channel inactivation was discovered at the ZMNH. A number of human diseases (hereditary forms of

myotonia Myotonia is a symptom of a small handful of certain neuromuscular disorders characterized by delayed relaxation (prolonged contraction) of the skeletal muscles after voluntary contraction or electrical stimulation. Myotonia is the defining sympt ...

osteopetrosis Osteopetrosis, literally "stone bone", also known as marble bone disease or Albers-Schönberg disease, is an extremely rare Biological inheritance, inherited disease, disorder whereby the bones harden, becoming Density, denser, in contrast to mor ...

retinal Retinal (also known as retinaldehyde) is a polyene chromophore. Retinal, bound to proteins called opsins, is the chemical basis of visual phototransduction, the light-detection stage of visual perception (vision). Some microorganisms use retin ...

degeneration,

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

stone diseases,

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

) could be mapped to mutations in specific ion channels. These fundamental insights allowed researchers to mimic important aspects of human diseases in genetically accurate animal models, a key step in the development of new drugs. More recently, ZMNH researchers developed novel genetic tools to control neuronal activity with light (

optogenetics Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells. On the level of individu ...

), including the first light-gated chloride channel ChloC and the light-activated potassium channel PACK.

External links

Homepage
of the ZMNH
Blankenese conferences
organized by the ZMNH

at the ZMNH

References

{{authority control Medical research institutes in Germany Neuroscience research centers in Germany Education in Hamburg Medical and health organisations based in Hamburg