Lab Header · Chekulaeva

Local RNA metabolism in neurons and neurodegeneration

We are focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate intracellular RNA localization, translation, and stability and role of RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNAs in this process.

Check Chekulaeva lab home page to learn about our research

Publications

/ Mol Cel

mRNA stability and m(6)A are major determinants of subcellular mRNA localization in neurons

  • I. Loedige
  • A. Baranovskii
  • S. Mendonsa
  • S. Dantsuji
  • N. Popitsch
  • L. Breimann
  • N. Zerna
  • V. Cherepanov
  • M. Milek
  • S. Ameres
  • M. Chekulaeva
/ Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol

First demonstration of miRNA-dependent mRNA decay

  • M. Chekulaeva
/ Nat Neurosci

Massively parallel identification of mRNA localization elements in primary cortical neurons

  • S. Mendonsa
  • N. von Kügelgen
  • S. Dantsuji
  • M. Ron
  • L. Breimann
  • A. Baranovskii
  • I. Lödige
  • M. Kirchner
  • M. Fischer
  • N. Zerna
  • L. Bujanic
  • P. Mertins
  • I. Ulitsky
  • M. Chekulaeva
/ Cancers

Multi-omics alleviates the limitations of panel sequencing for cancer drug response prediction

  • A. Baranovskii
  • I.B. Gündüz
  • V. Franke
  • B. Uyar
  • A. Akalin
/ Genome Biol

Identifying tumor cells at the single-cell level using machine learning

  • J. Dohmen
  • A. Baranovskii
  • J. Ronen
  • B. Uyar
  • V. Franke
  • A. Akalin
/ PLoS ONE

Transcriptome analysis reveals high tumor heterogeneity with respect to re-activation of stemness and proliferation programs

  • A. Baranovsky
  • T. Ivanov
  • M. Granovskaya
  • D. Papatsenko
  • D.D. Pervouchine
/ RNA

The key features of SARS-CoV-2 leader and NSP1 required for viral escape of NSP1-mediated repression

  • L. Bujanic
  • O. Shevchuk
  • N. von Kügelgen
  • A. Kalinina
  • K. Ludwik
  • D. Koppstein
  • N. Zerna
  • A. Sickmann
  • M. Chekulaeva
/ EBioMedicine

Novel targets, treatments, and advanced models for intracerebral haemorrhage

  • M. Zille
  • T.D. Farr
  • R.F. Keep
  • C. Römer
  • G. Xi
  • J. Boltze
/ Nucleic Acids Res

Charcot-Marie-Tooth mutation in glycyl-tRNA synthetase stalls ribosomes in a pre-accommodation state and activates integrated stress response

  • S. Mendonsa
  • N. von Kuegelgen
  • L. Bujanic
  • M. Chekulaeva
/ Genome Biol

A trans locus causes a ribosomopathy in hypertrophic hearts that affects mRNA translation in a protein length-dependent fashion

  • F. Witte
  • J. Ruiz-Orera
  • C. Ciolli Mattioli
  • S. Blachut
  • E. Adami
  • J.F. Schulz
  • V. Schneider-Lunitz
  • O. Hummel
  • G. Patone
  • M.B. Mücke
  • Jan Šilhavý
  • M. Heinig
  • L. Bottolo
  • D. Sanchis
  • M. Vingron
  • M. Chekulaeva
  • M. Pravenec
  • N. Hubner
  • S. van Heesch

News

Nerve cells cultivated from mouse stem cells
Press release

Only long-living RNAs reach their destination

RNA molecules travel long distances through nerve cells. To reach their destination, they need one thing more than any other – a long life – as a research team led by Marina Chekulaeva from MDC-BIMSB reports in the journal “Molecular Cell.”
Primary cortical neuron
Science

Decoding cellular zipcodes

Researchers suspect that neurodegenerative diseases occur when messenger RNA (mRNA) goes astray in the neuron. With a new method, Marina Chekulaeva is able to identify “zipcodes” that assign a destination to mRNAs. She has now presented her method in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Lab Header · Chekulaeva
Institute & Campus

Heisenberg Program accepts RNA biologist

Errors in cellular RNA metabolism are dangerous for nerve cells. For her work in this area, Marina Chekulaeva has now been accepted into the DFG Heisenberg program.
apoptotic cell
Press Release No. 9 Berlin

How SARS-CoV-2 takes over the cell's protein factory

The question of how the Covid virus takes over host cells and suppresses the body's defences has been the subject of much debate. Now a research team led by Marina Chekulaeva at the MDC has pinpointed the crucial mechanism involved. Their results have been published in the journal “RNA”.
Mendonsa und Chekulaeva im Labor
Press Release No. 47 Berlin

Downtime at the nerve cell’s protein factories

A team led by MDC researcher Marina Chekulaeva has figured out why protein production slows down in the nerve cells of people suffering from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. This discovery could lead to a new therapeutic approach, the scientists report in the journal "Nucleic Acids Research".
A red thread in motor neuron disorders
Institute & Campus

A red thread in motor neuron disorders

Under a new grant from the EU, Marina Chekuleava of the MDC will lead a multinational consortium to find common mechanisms in diverse motor neuron diseases
Science

The logistics of neuronal messenger RNAs

Where proteins are localized within a cell is crucial to their proper function, especially in cells like neurons. It affects neuronal development and even learning and memory. A research team led by Marina Chekulaeva has for the first time systematically analyzed how this localization comes about. Their article appeared in Nature Communications.
Science

New study shows circular RNA can encode for proteins

A group of scientists in Israel and Germany, led by Prof. Sebastian Kadener from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have discovered a protein-encoding function for circular RNA. This kind of RNA molecule is highly active in brain cells and could play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases.

Research Topics