ChemBIon project description

In the last decades increasing knowledge about the role of ion channels in the immune system has revealed their importance for immune cell effector mechanisms, both in health and under pathophysiological conditions. Cellular ion-based mechanisms are elementary for basic functions of the immune system. Despite our advanced understanding about ion channels on lymphocytes, computer modelling of the electrophysiological behaviour of resting and activated human CD4+ T cells revealed a discrepancy in current amplitudes that might also point to a so far unknown, depolarizing ion conductance functionally affecting T cell electrophysiology. Until today, hyperpolarization-activated and cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) ion channels are well described on neurons and cardiomyocytes, but not much is known about their role on immune cells.
The goal of this project: Since HCN channels maintain a stable resting membrane potential and closely interact with other channels expressed on immune cells, we aim at investigating expression and function of HCN channels under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.