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Thomas Langer

Bio: Thomas Langer is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mitochondrion & mitochondrial fusion. The author has an hindex of 82, co-authored 222 publications receiving 23219 citations. Previous affiliations of Thomas Langer include Heidelberg University & Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
23 Apr 1992-Nature
TL;DR: The main stress proteins of Escherichia coli function in an ordered protein-folding reaction and this sequential mechanism of chaperone action may represent an important pathway for the folding of newly synthesized polypeptides.
Abstract: The main stress proteins of Escherichia coli function in an ordered protein-folding reaction. DnaK (heat-shock protein 70) recognizes the folding polypeptide as an extended chain and cooperates with DnaJ in stabilizing an intermediate conformational state lacking ordered tertiary structure. Dependent on GrpE and ATP hydrolysis, the protein is then transferred to GroEL (heat-shock protein 60) which acts catalytically in the production of the native state. This sequential mechanism of chaperone action may represent an important pathway for the folding of newly synthesized polypeptides.

945 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The ways in which metabolic alterations convey changes in mitochondrial morphology and how disruption of mitochondrial morphology impacts cellular and organismal metabolism are reviewed.
Abstract: Mitochondrial morphology varies tremendously across cell types and tissues, changing rapidly in response to external insults and metabolic cues, such as nutrient status. The many functions of mitochondria have been intimately linked to their morphology, which is shaped by ongoing events of fusion and fission of outer and inner membranes (OM and IM). Unopposed fission causes mitochondrial fragmentation, which is generally associated with metabolic dysfunction and disease. Unopposed fusion results in a hyperfused network and serves to counteract metabolic insults, preserve cellular integrity, and protect against autophagy. Here, we review the ways in which metabolic alterations convey changes in mitochondrial morphology and how disruption of mitochondrial morphology impacts cellular and organismal metabolism.

854 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
04 Jul 1991-Nature
TL;DR: Folding of two monomeric enzymes mediated by groE has been reconstituted in vitro and might represent a general mechanism for the formation of protein structure in vivo.
Abstract: Folding of two monomeric enzymes mediated by groE has been reconstituted in vitro. The groEL protein stabilizes the polypeptides in a conformation resembling the 'molten globule' state. Mg-ATP and groES then promote the acquisition of ordered tertiary structure at the surface of groEL. Folding requires the hydrolysis of about 100 ATP molecules per protein monomer. This active process of surface-mediated chain folding might represent a general mechanism for the formation of protein structure in vivo.

817 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is reported that mitochondria hyperfuse and form a highly interconnected network in cells exposed to selective stresses and represents a novel adaptive pro‐survival response against stress.
Abstract: Mitochondria are dynamic organelles, the morphology of which results from an equilibrium between two opposing processes, fusion and fission. Mitochondrial fusion relies on dynamin-related GTPases, the mitofusins (MFN1 and 2) in the outer mitochondrial membrane and OPA1 (optic atrophy 1) in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Apart from a role in the maintenance of mitochondrial DNA, little is known about the physiological role of mitochondrial fusion. Here we report that mitochondria hyperfuse and form a highly interconnected network in cells exposed to selective stresses. This process precedes mitochondrial fission when it is triggered by apoptotic stimuli such as UV irradiation or actinomycin D. Stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion (SIMH) is independent of MFN2, BAX/BAK, and prohibitins, but requires L-OPA1, MFN1, and the mitochondrial inner membrane protein SLP-2. In the absence of SLP-2, L-OPA1 is lost and SIMH is prevented. SIMH is accompanied by increased mitochondrial ATP production and represents a novel adaptive pro-survival response against stress.

659 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The protein repair function of DnaK, GrpE and, in particular, DnaJ is likely to be part of the role of these proteins in regulation of the heat shock response.
Abstract: Members of the conserved Hsp70 chaperone family are assumed to constitute a main cellular system for the prevention and the amelioration of stress-induced protein damage, though little direct evidence exists for this function. We investigated the roles of the DnaK (Hsp70), DnaJ and GrpE chaperones of Escherichia coli in prevention and repair of thermally induced protein damage using firefly luciferase as a test substrate. In vivo, luciferase was rapidly inactivated at 42 degrees C, but was efficiently reactivated to 50% of its initial activity during subsequent incubation at 30 degrees C. DnaK, DnaJ and GrpE did not prevent luciferase inactivation, but were essential for its reactivation. In vitro, reactivation of heat-inactivated luciferase to 80% of its initial activity required the combined activity of DnaK, DnaJ and GrpE as well as ATP, but not GroEL and GroES. DnaJ associated with denatured luciferase, targeted DnaK to the substrate and co-operated with DnaK to prevent luciferase aggregation at 42 degrees C, an activity that was required for subsequent reactivation. The protein repair function of DnaK, GrpE and, in particular, DnaJ is likely to be part of the role of these proteins in regulation of the heat shock response.

598 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
02 Jan 1992-Nature
TL;DR: Folding and assembly of polypeptides in vivo involves other proteins, many of which belong to families that have been highly conserved during evolution.
Abstract: In the cell, as in vitro, the final conformation of a protein is determined by its amino-acid sequence. But whereas some isolated proteins can be denatured and refolded in vitro in the absence of other macromolecular cellular components, folding and assembly of polypeptides in vivo involves other proteins, many of which belong to families that have been highly conserved during evolution.

4,181 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
13 Jun 1996-Nature
TL;DR: Significant progress has been made in the understanding of the ATP-dependent mechanisms used by the Hsp70 and chaperonin families of molecular chaperones, which can cooperate to assist in folding new polypeptide chains.
Abstract: The folding of many newly synthesized proteins in the cell depends on a set of conserved proteins known as molecular chaperones. These prevent the formation of misfolded protein structures, both under normal conditions and when cells are exposed to stresses such as high temperature. Significant progress has been made in the understanding of the ATP-dependent mechanisms used by the Hsp70 and chaperonin families of molecular chaperones, which can cooperate to assist in folding new polypeptide chains.

3,522 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
David E. Gordon, Gwendolyn M. Jang, Mehdi Bouhaddou, Jiewei Xu, Kirsten Obernier, Kris M. White1, Matthew J. O’Meara2, Veronica V. Rezelj3, Jeffrey Z. Guo, Danielle L. Swaney, Tia A. Tummino4, Ruth Hüttenhain, Robyn M. Kaake, Alicia L. Richards, Beril Tutuncuoglu, Helene Foussard, Jyoti Batra, Kelsey M. Haas, Maya Modak, Minkyu Kim, Paige Haas, Benjamin J. Polacco, Hannes Braberg, Jacqueline M. Fabius, Manon Eckhardt, Margaret Soucheray, Melanie J. Bennett, Merve Cakir, Michael McGregor, Qiongyu Li, Bjoern Meyer3, Ferdinand Roesch3, Thomas Vallet3, Alice Mac Kain3, Lisa Miorin1, Elena Moreno1, Zun Zar Chi Naing, Yuan Zhou, Shiming Peng4, Ying Shi, Ziyang Zhang, Wenqi Shen, Ilsa T Kirby, James E. Melnyk, John S. Chorba, Kevin Lou, Shizhong Dai, Inigo Barrio-Hernandez5, Danish Memon5, Claudia Hernandez-Armenta5, Jiankun Lyu4, Christopher J.P. Mathy, Tina Perica4, Kala Bharath Pilla4, Sai J. Ganesan4, Daniel J. Saltzberg4, Rakesh Ramachandran4, Xi Liu4, Sara Brin Rosenthal6, Lorenzo Calviello4, Srivats Venkataramanan4, Jose Liboy-Lugo4, Yizhu Lin4, Xi Ping Huang7, Yongfeng Liu7, Stephanie A. Wankowicz, Markus Bohn4, Maliheh Safari4, Fatima S. Ugur, Cassandra Koh3, Nastaran Sadat Savar3, Quang Dinh Tran3, Djoshkun Shengjuler3, Sabrina J. Fletcher3, Michael C. O’Neal, Yiming Cai, Jason C.J. Chang, David J. Broadhurst, Saker Klippsten, Phillip P. Sharp4, Nicole A. Wenzell4, Duygu Kuzuoğlu-Öztürk4, Hao-Yuan Wang4, Raphael Trenker4, Janet M. Young8, Devin A. Cavero9, Devin A. Cavero4, Joseph Hiatt4, Joseph Hiatt9, Theodore L. Roth, Ujjwal Rathore9, Ujjwal Rathore4, Advait Subramanian4, Julia Noack4, Mathieu Hubert3, Robert M. Stroud4, Alan D. Frankel4, Oren S. Rosenberg, Kliment A. Verba4, David A. Agard4, Melanie Ott, Michael Emerman8, Natalia Jura, Mark von Zastrow, Eric Verdin10, Eric Verdin4, Alan Ashworth4, Olivier Schwartz3, Christophe d'Enfert3, Shaeri Mukherjee4, Matthew P. Jacobson4, Harmit S. Malik8, Danica Galonić Fujimori, Trey Ideker6, Charles S. Craik, Stephen N. Floor4, James S. Fraser4, John D. Gross4, Andrej Sali, Bryan L. Roth7, Davide Ruggero, Jack Taunton4, Tanja Kortemme, Pedro Beltrao5, Marco Vignuzzi3, Adolfo García-Sastre, Kevan M. Shokat, Brian K. Shoichet4, Nevan J. Krogan 
30 Apr 2020-Nature
TL;DR: A human–SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map highlights cellular processes that are hijacked by the virus and that can be targeted by existing drugs, including inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the sigma receptors.
Abstract: A newly described coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has infected over 2.3 million people, led to the death of more than 160,000 individuals and caused worldwide social and economic disruption1,2. There are no antiviral drugs with proven clinical efficacy for the treatment of COVID-19, nor are there any vaccines that prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2, and efforts to develop drugs and vaccines are hampered by the limited knowledge of the molecular details of how SARS-CoV-2 infects cells. Here we cloned, tagged and expressed 26 of the 29 SARS-CoV-2 proteins in human cells and identified the human proteins that physically associated with each of the SARS-CoV-2 proteins using affinity-purification mass spectrometry, identifying 332 high-confidence protein–protein interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and human proteins. Among these, we identify 66 druggable human proteins or host factors targeted by 69 compounds (of which, 29 drugs are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, 12 are in clinical trials and 28 are preclinical compounds). We screened a subset of these in multiple viral assays and found two sets of pharmacological agents that displayed antiviral activity: inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the sigma-1 and sigma-2 receptors. Further studies of these host-factor-targeting agents, including their combination with drugs that directly target viral enzymes, could lead to a therapeutic regimen to treat COVID-19. A human–SARS-CoV-2 protein interaction map highlights cellular processes that are hijacked by the virus and that can be targeted by existing drugs, including inhibitors of mRNA translation and predicted regulators of the sigma receptors.

3,319 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Lorenzo Galluzzi1, Lorenzo Galluzzi2, Ilio Vitale3, Stuart A. Aaronson4  +183 moreInstitutions (111)
TL;DR: The Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives.
Abstract: Over the past decade, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) has formulated guidelines for the definition and interpretation of cell death from morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. Since the field continues to expand and novel mechanisms that orchestrate multiple cell death pathways are unveiled, we propose an updated classification of cell death subroutines focusing on mechanistic and essential (as opposed to correlative and dispensable) aspects of the process. As we provide molecularly oriented definitions of terms including intrinsic apoptosis, extrinsic apoptosis, mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT)-driven necrosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, parthanatos, entotic cell death, NETotic cell death, lysosome-dependent cell death, autophagy-dependent cell death, immunogenic cell death, cellular senescence, and mitotic catastrophe, we discuss the utility of neologisms that refer to highly specialized instances of these processes. The mission of the NCCD is to provide a widely accepted nomenclature on cell death in support of the continued development of the field.

3,301 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
08 Mar 2002-Science
TL;DR: Understanding how the thousands of different proteins synthesized in a cell use this chaperone machinery has profound implications for biotechnology and medicine.
Abstract: Efficient folding of many newly synthesized proteins depends on assistance from molecular chaperones, which serve to prevent protein misfolding and aggregation in the crowded environment of the cell. Nascent chain–binding chaperones, including trigger factor, Hsp70, and prefoldin, stabilize elongating chains on ribosomes in a nonaggregated state. Folding in the cytosol is achieved either on controlled chain release from these factors or after transfer of newly synthesized proteins to downstream chaperones, such as the chaperonins. These are large, cylindrical complexes that provide a central compartment for a single protein chain to fold unimpaired by aggregation. Understanding how the thousands of different proteins synthesized in a cell use this chaperone machinery has profound implications for biotechnology and medicine.

3,288 citations