Imaging of different leukocyte populations in vivo is key to understand their dynamics and role in inflammation. To overcome current limitations, we will develop new methods to label immune cells (1) within a longer time window, i.e., from initiation of inflammation to resolution. We will establish a flexible and modular platform applicable to different imaging modalities, such as fluorescence, scintigraphic or photoacoustic imaging. ER-HoxB8 cells (2) will be genetically tagged ex vivo with self-labelling enzymes or epitopes for antibody fragments (3). After differentiation and re-injection, in vivo labelling (4) will be achieved by administering tag-specific, functionalized labels to selectively visualize the respective cell population. Novel approaches will be initially evaluated in a cutaneous granuloma mouse model and then expanded to other disease models in CRC projects.
The names of the principal investigators in our network have been bolded. Publications released prior to 2021, when funding for our network commenced, represent previous project-related work.
2024
Pasch T, Baumer N, Baumer S, Buchholz F, Mootz HD. Towards targeted Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas) delivery: Preparation of IgG antibody-Cas9 conjugates using a split intein. J Pept Sci 2024Abstract
2022
Rosner L, Konken CP, Depke DA, Rentmeister A, Schafers M. Covalent labeling of immune cells. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2022;68: 102144. Abstract
2021
Depke DA, Konken CP, Rosner L, Hermann S, Schafers M, Rentmeister A. A novel (18)F-labeled clickable substrate for targeted imaging of SNAP-tag expressing cells by PET in vivo. Chem Commun (Camb) 2021;57: 9850-9853. Abstract
Reille-Seroussi M, Meyer-Ahrens P, Aust A, Feldberg A-L, Mootz HD. Genetic Encoding and Enzymatic Deprotection of a Latent Thiol Side Chain to Enable New Protein Bioconjugation Applications. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021;60: 15972-15979. Abstract
Westerich KJ, Chandrasekaran KS, Gross-Thebing T, Kueck N, Raz E, Rentmeister A. Bioorthogonal mRNA labeling at the poly(A) tail for imaging localization and dynamics in live zebrafish embryos. Chem. Sci. 2020;11: 3089-3095. Abstract
2019
Anhauser L, Huwel S, Zobel T, Rentmeister A. Multiple covalent fluorescence labeling of eukaryotic mRNA at the poly(A) tail enhances translation and can be performed in living cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2019;47: e42. Abstract
Bhagawati M, Terhorst TME, Fusser F, Hoffmann S, Pasch T, Pietrokovski S, Mootz HD. A mesophilic cysteine-less split intein for protein trans-splicing applications under oxidizing conditions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019;116: 22164-22172. Abstract
2018
Konken CP, Haufe G, Brömmel K, Wünsch B, Schäfers M, Wagner S, Hugenberg V. Development of symmetric O-BODIPYs with different optical properties as building blocks for the synthesis of ligands for multimodal imaging. Dyes Pigment. 2018;158: 88-96. Abstract
Pirzer T, Becher K-S, Rieker M, Meckel T, Mootz HD, Kolmar H. Generation of Potent Anti-HER1/2 Immunotoxins by Protein Ligation Using Split Inteins. ACS Chem Biol 2018;13: 2058-2066. Abstract
2017
Bachmann A-L, Mootz HD. N-terminal chemical protein labeling using the naturally split GOS-TerL intein. J Pept Sci 2017;23: 624-630. Abstract
Muttach F, Muthmann N, Reichert D, Anhäuser L, Rentmeister A. A benzylic linker promotes methyltransferase catalyzed norbornene transfer for rapid bioorthogonal tetrazine ligation. Chem. Sci. 2017;8: 7947-7953. Abstract
