Contact
PharmaCampus of the University Münster
Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry
Department Pharmacology
Corrensstraße 48
48149 Münster
Phone: +49 (0)251 83-33321
Room: B.110.136
E-Mail
Curriculum Vitae
| since 2023 |
Research stay at University of Colorado Denver, USA Group of Dr. Richard Benninger |
| since 2022 | Group Leader at the Insitute of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Münster, Germany |
| 2020-2022 |
Postdoctoral researcher at the Insitute of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Münster, Germany Group of Prof. Dr. Martina Düfer |
| 2016-2020 |
Ph.D. Fellow at the Institute or Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Münster, Germany Group of Prof. Dr. Martina Düfer Dissertation: Role of the NMDA receptor in pancreatic beta cells. |
| 2014-2016 |
Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Science & Technologies at the Insitute of Phamacy, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Group of Prof. Gisela Drews Master thesis: Effects of 2-APB and BTP2 on the CRAC-channel activity in murine pancreatic beta cells. |
| 2010-2013 | Bachelor of Science in Biology at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Germany |
Awards an Honors
| 2023 | Poster Award at the Diabetes Day Symposium of Diabetes Research Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus |
| 2020 | Highlighted Trainee Author for "Gresch & Düfer, 2020" by the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) |
| 2019 | Travel Scholarship for the DPhG annual meeting in Heidelberg |
Topics of Research
Functional network of the pancreatic islet
The islet of Langerhans is a group of cells in the pancreas consisting largely of insulin-secreting beta cells. Insulin is an important hormone for the regulation of blood glucose levels. Beta cells exhibit a characteristic oscillatory pattern in membrane potential (MP), cytosolic calcium concentration, and subsequent insulin secretion. The three-dimensional organization and connectivity of beta cells is critical for collective behavior and proper insulin secretion. Electrical coupling through connexin36 gap junctions, possibly together with other forms of intercellular communication, has been described as the main synchronization mechanism. Loss of this synchronization can be observed in islets of Langerhans from type 2 diabetes patients.
So far, it is unclear whether synchronization and signal propagation depend on differentiated beta cells (Graphical abstract: cells marked in dark blue). Are such specialized cells possibly missing in islets of diabetic patients? To approach this question we use electrophysiological methods, e.g., multielectrode arrays. With these recordings, recruitment and cell coupling activity within whole islets can be analyzed using self-written python codes.
Publications
- Noguera Hurtado H, Gresch A, Düfer M. NMDA receptors – regulatory function and pathophysiological significance for pancreatic beta cells. Biol Chem. 2023, 404(4):311-324.
- Gresch A, Noguera Hurtado H, Wörmeyer L, De Luca V, Wiggers R, Seebom G, Wünsch B, Düfer M. Selective Inhibition of NMDA receptors with GluN2B subunit protects beta cells against stress-induced apoptotic cell death. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 2021, 379(3):235-244.
- Sikimic J, Hoffmeister T, Gresch A, Barthlen W, Wolke C, Lendeckel U, Krippeit-Drews P, Düfer M, Drews G. Possible new strategies for the treatment of congenital hyperinsulinism. Front Endocrinol, 2020, 11:545638.
- Gresch A, & Düfer, M. Dextromethorphan and dextrorphan influence insulin secretion by interacting with KATP and L-type Ca2+ channels in pancreatic β-cells. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2020, 375(1):10-20.
- Maczewsky J, Kaiser J, Gresch A, Gerst F, Düfer M, Krippeit-Drews P, Drews G. TGR5 activation promotes stimulus-secretion coupling of pancreatic beta-cells via a PKA-dependent pathway. Diabetes, 2019, 68(2):324-336.
- Brouwer S, Hoffmeister T, Gresch A, Schönhoff L, Düfer M. Resveratrol Influences Pancreatic Islets by Opposing Effects on Electrical Activity and Insulin Release. Mol Nutr Food Res, 2018, 62(5).