TO TOP


Prof. Dr. Andreas Reiner

Department of Cellular Neurobiology
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology
Ruhr University Bochum
Universitätsstr. 150
44801 Bochum

Room: ND 4/125
Phone: +49 (0)234 32-24332
Email: andreas.reiner@ruhr-uni-bochum.de


Homepage
orcid.org/0000-0003-0802-7278
Prof. Dr. Andreas Reiner
Prof. Dr. Andreas Reiner
Research Interests

We focus on glutamate receptor signaling. Glutamate receptors (GluRs) play a key role in the central nervous system, where they pass excitatory signals across synapses and modulate synaptic strength and plasticity. GluRs also contribute to various pathologies. We apply and develop new optical techniques to study these processes with high spatio-temporal resolution, as well as molecular and cellular specificity.
An important part of our toolset are chemical photoswitches (photoswitchable ligands), which allow us to activate or inhibit specific iGluRs or mGluRs with light. This constitutes a powerful technique, which we use for mechanistic, pharmacological and optogenetic studies.

Kagiampaki, Z., Rohner, V., Kiss, C., Curreli, S., Dieter, A., Wilhelm, M., Harada, M., Duss, S. N., Dernic, J., Bhat, M. A., Zhou, X., Ravotto, L., Ziebarth, T., Wasielewski, L. M., Sönmez, L., Benke, D., Weber, B., Bohacek, J., Reiner, A., . . . Patriarchi, T. (2023). Sensitive multicolor indicators for monitoring norepinephrine in vivo. Nature Methods, 20(9), 1426–1436. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-01959-z

Herbrechter, R., Hube, N., Buchholz, R., & Reiner, A. (2021). Splicing and editing of ionotropic glutamate receptors: A comprehensive analysis based on human RNA-Seq data. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS, 78(14), 5605–5630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03865-z

Selvakumar, P., Lee, J., Khanra, N., He, C., Munguba, H., Kiese, L., Broichhagen, J., Reiner, A., Levitz, J., & Meyerson, J. R. (2021). Structural and compositional diversity in the kainate receptor family. Cell Reports, 37(4), 109891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109891

Pollok, S., & Reiner, A. (2020). Subunit-selective iGluR antagonists can potentiate heteromeric receptor responses by blocking desensitization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(41), 25851–25858. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2007471117

Reiner, A. & Levitz, J. (2018). Glutamatergic Signaling in the Central Nervous System: Ionotropic and Metabotropic Receptors in Concert. Neuron, 98(6), 1080–1098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2018.05.018

Berlin, S., Szobota, S., Reiner, A., Carroll, E. C., Kienzler, M. A., Guyon, A., Xiao, T., Trauner, D. & Isacoff, E. Y. (2016). A family of photoswitchable NMDA receptors. eLife, 5. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.12040

Reiner, A. & Isacoff, E. Y. (2014). Tethered ligands reveal glutamate receptor desensitization depends on subunit occupancy. Nature Chemical Biology, 10(4), 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.1458

Levitz, J., Pantoja, C. R., Gaub, B. M., Janovjak, H., Reiner, A., Hoagland, A., Schoppik, D., Kane, B., Stawski, P., Schier, A. F., Trauner, D. & Isacoff, E. Y. (2013). Optical control of metabotropic glutamate receptors. Nature Neuroscience, 16(4), 507–516. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3346

Kienzler, M. A., Reiner, A., Trautman, E., Yoo, S., Trauner, D., & Isacoff, E. Y. (2013). A red-shifted, fast-relaxing azobenzene photoswitch for visible light control of an ionotropic glutamate receptor. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(47), 17683–17686. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja408104w

Reiner, A., Henklein, P., & Kiefhaber, T. (2010). An unlocking/relocking barrier in conformational fluctuations of villin headpiece subdomain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(11), 4955–4960. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0910001107