Prof. Dr. Helmut Kettenmann
Cellular Neuroscience
Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine
Research Interest:
Our goal is to understand the role of glial cells in physiology and pathology. We focus on questions as to how neuronal activity is sensed by astrocytes, how astrocytes communicate among each other, and how they feedback on neurons. A second focus addresses the expression of transmitter receptors in microglial cells and how activation of these receptors influences microglial function. This is of particular interest within the context of pathology and we are currently studying this question in stroke and gliomas. A third line of research addresses the question as to how glioma cells interact with the intrinsic brain cells, specifically microglia and stem cells. We are aiming to understand this interaction on a molecular level, in particular with the hope of identifying tools which impair glioma invasion.
Selected Publications:
Färber, K., Markworth, S., Pannasch, U., Prinz, V., Kronenberg, G., Gertz, K., Endres, M., Enjyoji, K., Robson, S. C. and Kettenmann H. (2008) The ectonucleotidase cd39/ENTPDase1 modulates purinergic-mediated microglial migration, Glia, 56:331-341.
Schipke C. G., Haas B. and Kettenmann H. (2008), Astrocytes Discriminate and Selectively Respond to the Activity of a Subpopulation of Neurons within the Barrel Cortex Cereb Cortex, published on March 4, 2008; doi: doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn009
Waelzlein JH, Synowitz M., Engels B., Markovic D. S., Gabrusiewicz K., Nikolaev E. Yoshikawa K., Kaminska B., Kempermann G., Uckert W.,Kaczmarek L., Kettenmann H., and Glass R. (2008), The anti-tumorigenic response of neural precursors depends on subventricular proliferation and age. Stem Cells Express, published online August 28, 2008; doi:10.1634/stemcells.2008-0307
Hanisch, UK and Kettenmann, H. (2007) Microglia – active sensor and versatile effector cells in the normal and pathologic brain, Nat. Neurosci. 10:1387 – 1394.
Pocock, J. M. and Kettenmann H. (2007) Neurotransmitter receptors on microglia, Trends Neurosci., 30:527-535