for greener pastures (of Scotland).
Dr. Nicholas A. Johnson has spent a few years with us as a postdoctoral fellow. These were very enjoyable years and we’ve done some good work together (and more to come!). Nick has left to take up a staff scientist position at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research in Glasgow, UK. Best of Luck, Nick!
for her dissertation.
Dr. Anezka Ticha was awarded the prestigious Czech Josef Hlavka Prize for outstanding doctoral research and dissertation thesis. Congratulations!
Lucie Polovinkin has passed her PhD viva in structural biology at the University of Grenoble (the group of Hughues Nury). Congratulations, Dr. Polovinkin!!!
Jano Kuzmík has left the lab for greener pastures in the biotech industry. Good luck and thanks for you work with us!
Jakub Began has left the lab to join the group of Sebastian Zoll at IOCB Prague while finalizing his paper and PhD thesis. Many, many thanks, Jakub, for a great time spent together and all your hard work!
for her PhD.
Kathrin Bach has done her masters research at the TU Munich, and decided to join our group for her PhD via the IOCB PhD programme. Cordial welcome, Kathrin! We are looking forward to working with you.
(MSc) with honours! Congratulations!
as a postdoc
Monika has a background in cancer biology. Welcome to the lab!
for California.
Our sabbatical visitor and friend Prof. Bil Clemons from Caltech has left our lab after having spent a full year with us. We had a great time together both scientifically and socially. We will miss you, Bil. Good luck back home! And stop by when you pass through Prague. ;-)
In collaboration with the Misek lab at Charles Univeristy, on identifying a new methionine sulfoxide reducing enzyme using chiral fluorescent probes. Just accepted. Congratulations to all authors!
with flying colours! Congratulations!
Well done and congratulations! :)
with flying colours!
Congratulations, Dr. Anežka Tichá! :)
in Trends in Biochemical Sciences
To get a more personal idea about the PI, read a recent interview with Kvido Strisovsky by Trends in Biochemical Sciences.
on rhomboid superfamily in Trends in Biochemical Sciences
If you wonder what the hell rhomboid superfamily is, how rhomboid proteases and pseudoproteases work and why it matters, you should read this:
Tichá, A., Collis, B., and Strisovsky, K. (2018)
The Rhomboid Superfamily: Structural Mechanisms and Chemical Biology Opportunities.
Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 43: 726-739
for a postdoc
to the lab of David Drew at the University of Stockholm.
Bil Clemons from Caltech
Prof. Bil Clemons from Caltech will spend about a year of his sabbatical with us. We are excited! Welcome, Bil!
on iRhom in eLife in collaboration with the Adrain lab
Two back to back papers in eLife, by the Adrain and Freeman labs just came online, showing that the stability of the ADAM17/iRhom complex at the plasma membrane is promoted by the FRMD8/iTAP protein that interacts with the cytosolic N-terminus of iRhom. FRMD8/iTAP somehow protects the ADAM17/iRhom complex from being degraded in lysosomes, thereby promoting inflammatory signalling.
Oikonomidi I, Burbridge E, Cavadas M, Sullivan G, Collis B, Naegele H, Clancy D, Brezinova J, Hu T, Bileck A, Gerner C, Bolado A, von Kriegsheim A, Martin SJ, Steinberg F, Strisovsky K, Adrain C (2018)
iTAP, a novel iRhom interactor, controls TNF secretion by policing the stability of iRhom/TACE.
eLife 7: e35032
done
Anička Deylová has had her BSc viva. Congratulations!
from CU and ICT
Students Ján Kuzmík (Charles University, CU) and Jan Šugar (Institute of Chemical Technology, ICT) join the lab. Looking forward to working with you, lads!
Welcome, Laura!
Laura Kalwoda from Marseille, France, will spend 4 months in our lab as a summer student.
in collaboration with Steven Verhelst and Sascha Weggen
Goel, P., Jumpertz, T., Ticha, A., Ogorek, I., Mikles, D. C., Hubalek, M., Pietrzik, C. U., Strisovsky, K., Schmidt, B., and Weggen, S. (2018)
Discovery and validation of 2-styryl substituted benzoxazin-4-ones as a novel scaffold for rhomboid protease inhibitors.
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, in press
Yang, J., Barniol-Xicota, M., Nguyen, M. T. N., Ticha, A., Strisovsky, K., and Verhelst, S. H. L. (2018)
Benzoxazin-4-ones as novel, easily accessible inhibitors for rhomboid proteases.
Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters, in press
in Cell Chem Biol
Moskal and McQuibban feature our new paper in their Preview piece in Cell Chem Biol.
Good job!
on rhomboid inhibitors in Biochemistry
A collaborative paper with Sascha Weggen’s group in Duesseldorf on the discovery of a new scaffold based on modified saccharin that potently inhibits rhomboid proteases “Discovery and Biological Evaluation of Potent and Selective N-Methylene Saccharin-Derived Inhibitors for Rhomboid Intramembrane Proteases” just coming out in Biochemistry.
Maybe they taste sweet? We haven’t tried… ;-)
on rhomboid inhibitors in Cell Chemical Biology
Anezka and Stanco’s paper on the discovery of new potent and pharmacologically compliant inhibitors of rhomboid proteases based on peptidyl ketoamides has been published in Cell Chemical Biology.
on RHBDL2 in Scientific Reports
Congratulations to Nicholas!
Aymeric decided to move to France and leaves the group. You will be missed!
in Methods in Enzymology
Strisovsky, K. (2017) Mechanism and inhibition of rhomboid proteases. Methods Enzymol. 584, 279-293.
Arutyunova, E., Panigrahi, R., Strisovsky, K., and Lemieux, M. J. (2016) Production of recombinant rhomboid proteases. Methods Enzymol. 584, 255-278.
Arutyunova, E., Strisovsky, K., and Lemieux, M. J. (2016) Activity assays for rhomboid proteases. Methods Enzymol. 584, 395-437.
on rhomboid substrates in J Biol Chem
Ticha A, Stanchev S, Skerle J, Began J, Ingr M, Svehlova K, Polovinkin L, Ruzicka M, Bednarova L, Hadravova R, Polachova E, Rampirova P, Brezinova J, Kasicka V, Majer P, Strisovsky K (2017) Sensitive versatile fluorogenic transmembrane peptide substrates for rhomboid intramembrane proteases. J Biol Chem: doi: 10.1074/jbc.M1116.762849.
Here we introduce our new substrates and activity assays for rhomboid proteases. Congratulations to Anezka Ticha and Stancho Stanchev!
Dr. Blanka Collis is awarded the IOCB postdoctoral fellowship and joins the group as a postdoctoral research fellow. Blanka has done her undergaduate studies at Cambridge University (Pembroke College), her PhD at the University of Sheffield and her first postdoctoral training at Oxford University, UK. Welcome, Blanka! We are looking forward to working with you.
Anicka Suchánková leaves the group to commence her studies at Cambridge University, Queens College. We are sad to let you go, but feel proud about you and wish you all the best!
Great achievement!
review on rhomboid inhibitors
In a special issue of Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology on rhomboid superfamily proteins, Kvido reviews the current status and projects the future of rhomboid protease inhibitors.
Our new bachelor students Květa Trávníčková and Jolana Kučerová from Charles University have joined the group. Welcome! We are very happy to have you and hope that you will enjoy working with us and learn a lot!
on RHBDL4 and TGFa
In collaboration with the Lemberg, Freeman and Adrain labs in Heidelberg, Oxford and Lisbon,respectively, we have discovered that a human rhomboid protease regulates ER export and secretion of membrane-anchored TGFa in exosome-like vesicles.
Our findings provide a different molecular explanation of the recent observations by Song et al. who find that the same rhomboid protease (RHBDL4) promotes colorectal cancer progression by the autocrine activation of EGFR signalling.
Mgr. Edita Poláchová joins the group as a research assistant. Welcome, Edita! :)
as a visiting student
Kumar Tekwani Movellan from the group of Dr. Rasmus Linser joins our lab for a few months to learn how to make recombinant rhomboid proteases by all means and in all forms.! :) Happy to have you here, Kumar!
on why cells need intramembrane proteases
Did you ever wonder why cells have intramembrane proteases? Read this new viewpoint article by Kvido to find out.
A new website for our Prague Membrane Discussions forum is up and running. Thanks, Marek! Watch this space.
Aymeric has been awarded the IOCB Postdoctoral Fellowship. Congratulations!
Our new bachelor students Šárka Boháčová and Anna Deylová from Charles University have joined the group. Welcome! We are very happy to have you and hope that you will enjoy working with us and learn a lot.
2015 part II announcement
Prague Membrane Discussions 2015/II
Venue: ÚOCHB AV ČR, Flemingovo n. 2, Praha 6 ; Seminar room B4.29 (in the new building B)
Date: Thursday June 18th 2015, 10am-2pm
For those who know: second Discussion in the 2015 series, this time organised by Kvido Strisovsky from IOCB and featuring new IOCB groups working on lipid membrane related stuff.
For the newcomers: Prague Membrane Discussions is an informal interest group and discussion forum for scientists interested in lipid membrane related phenomena in some way. The aim is to bring together people from Prague (and around) to foster idea exchange, collaborations etc. Topics covered include model and cell membranes, membrane-associated molecules and processes and various techniques for lipid membrane research. The presenters and audience range from theoretical and (bio)physical chemists to structural and molecular cell biologists. Currently organised by the Cebecauer, Malínský and Stříšovský labs, we gather 3 times per year for short meetings of 3-5 talks and open and lively discussions peppered with tough and rigorous questions. But we are open to considering alternative formats: poster and video presentations, surveys, man-on-man discussions, hands-on practical courses or some other forms of scientific interactions in the future! :)
Preliminary programme
For all the presentations except for the shorter introductory one we are looking at about 20 min talk + 10 min discussion, which will make it about three hours of talks + a coffee/tea break in between.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Kvido
Mgr. Petra Rampírová joins the lab as a research assistant. Welcome, Petra!
Dr. Aymeric Morlé has just received his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Burgundy, France. Having worked in the lab of Carmen Garrido and Olivier Micheau, he now joins our lab as a postdoctoral fellow. Welcome, Aymeric!
Dr. Jitka Novotná joins the group as an investigator scientist. She has done PhD in microbiology and is evolving towards structural biology. Welcome, Jitka!
Dr. David C. Mikles has recently completed his PhD at the University of Florida, USA, and joins our lab as a postdoc. Welcome, David!
...in The EMBO Journal.
Sebastian’s paper on the structure and mechanism of rhomboid comes live and open access in The EMBO Journal!
Also mentioned here:
How do intramembrane proteases work? First structure with a substrate peptide from KvidoStrisovsky</a> <a href="http://t.co/gwDVNzSHer">http://t.co/gwDVNzSHer</a></p>— Matthew Freeman (mjafreeman) September 15, 2014
...for a postdoc in Oxford, UK.
Sebastian Zoll is leaving at the end of September to start a second postdoc with Matthew Higgins at the Department of Biochemistry of Oxford University, UK.
Sebastian, thank you very much for all the excellent work you’ve done in the lab! Getting an EMBO Journal paper in less than 2 years starting from scratch, that is just impressive! Continue like this!
All the best.
...to do a PhD in Grenoble, FR.
Lucie Peclinovská has left our lab to undertake a PhD in Grenoble in the group of Eva Pebay-Peroula. Membrane protein crystallography adventure ahead! The seed has been sown and germinates! :)
Lucka, thank you very much for all your excellent work. It was very enjoyable to have you in the lab! Completing your masters degree with co-authorship on Nucleic Acids Research and EMBO Journal papers – not bad!
All the best!
...position filled.
The postdoc position has been just filled. Thanks to all applicants.
...where some of the best currently used drugs against HIV and hepatitis B virus originate from? Guess and check out this
Marie Komrsová from the University of Glasgow has joined us for a short summer placement (whilst being on summer holidays back home :).
Sharpening rhomboid specificity by dimerisation and allostery
A new concept proposed in intramembrane proteolysis – regulation of rhomboid activity by dimerisation and allosteric activation. From the lab of Joanne Lemieux, just coming out in The EMBO Journal.
My highlight and commentary article to this paper here.
Also see my Tweet:
Dimerisation and allostery in intramembrane catalysis? Interesting idea proposed by Joanne Lemieux. Highlighted here: http://t.co/Efgs6elE2P
— Kvido Strisovsky (@KvidoStrisovsky) July 16, 2014an IAESTE trainee
Camilla Linhart from Vienna has spent 6 weeks with us as an IAESTE trainee. She deepened her expertise in DNA cloning, mutagenesis, recombinant protein expression in E.coli, purification of recombinant membrane proteins and enzymatic assays. Almost everything worked! Well done, lots accomplished in a 6-weeks internship! And besides that she has also managed to see the beautiful summery Prague, travel around the country and enjoy sunshine and barbecue with us. Very happy to have had you with us, Camilla! What are you doing next summer?... :)
in the lab…
Eliane Kuettler (second from the left) from Steven Verhelst’s lab in Munich has come to our lab for two weeks to finish some experiments for her thesis. Most experiments worked and we really enjoyed having Eliane with us!
to go to Grenoble, France
Lucie has decided for a PhD abroad and has won a prestigious fellowship to undertake PhD studies with Eva Pebay-Peyroula at the Institute of Structural Biology in Grenoble, France. Lucie is in love with France and got enchanted by structural biology of membrane proteins! Congratulations! We will be sad to see you go in September, but we hope to see you every now and then in Prague or Grenoble (ESRF). All the best for your future.
Kudos!
for a PhD
Anežka Tichá has joined us as a PhD student. Anežka (a beautiful traditional Czech name) has done her master thesis with Lenka Maletínská at the IOCB developing anti-obesity peptides (very successfully – watch that space). She has decided to switch to basic research for her PhD and took up the challenge to work on rhomboid-family proteins. Kudos!
Lucie has passed her viva, defended her thesis and has graduated as a Master of Science from the Department of Biochemistry of Charles University! Congratulations, Lucka!
Celebrations followed…
Jakub Began has won a student grant from the Charles University for his PhD project for the years 2014-2016. Well done! Congratulations!
Here I am reviewing the current state of play in the area of mechanism and structure of intramembrane proteases. Main focus is on rhomboids as the best understood family.
Selected for the issue front cover