Lutz Schomburg Profile Page
| Organisation: | Charité |
| Institute: | Institute for Experimental Endocrinology |
| Address: | Augustenburger Platz 1 13353 Berlin |
| Campus: | Virchow Klinikum |
| E-Mail: | This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
| Field: | Hormones, Glands & Trace Elements |
| Track(s): | Bio;Med |
| CV: | 1994-1996 postdoctoral fellow, MPI for Experimental Endocrinology, Prof. Dr. K. Bauer 1996-1997 postdoctoral fellow, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S.A., research team of Prof. Dr. W. W. Chin 1997-1999 Principal Investigator, MPI for Exper. Endocrinology, Hannover, Prof. Bauer 1999-2001 P. Investigator, Univ. of Würzburg, Dpt. of Molecular Medicine, Prof. Köhrle 2001-2008 P. Investigator, Charité - University Hospital Berlin, Institute for Experimental Endocrinology, Director: Prof. Dr. J. Köhrle 2008- University Professor (W2) of Molecular Endocrinology, Charité - Berlin Awards and Scholarships 1994 Otto-Hahn-Medal of the Max-Planck-Society, 1 year Otto-Hahn-stipend 1995 "Schöller-Junkmann Award" of the German Society of Endocrinology 2006 invitation to become member of the Biochemical Society UK, and to serve as editorial advisor for Biochemical Journal (accepted) 2007 personal research grant by the Charité - Berlin to study the importance of microRNA for sex-specific expression of selenoproteins 2007 primo loco position for the W2 professorship of Biochemistry of Nutrition at the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (declined) 2007 "International Schrauzer Prize", Society of Minerals and Trace Elements 2008 primo loco position for W2 professorship of Experimental Endocrinology at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (accepted) 2009 invitation to become member of the advisory board of the Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology (accepted) Membership in Professional Societies German Society of Biological Chemistry & Molecular Biology (GBM); German Society of Endocrinology (DGE); European Thyroid Association (ETA); Society of Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS); European Society of Endocrinology (ESE); Biochemical Society (BS). |
| Research Interests: | All mammalian life is finite, and times of growth and differentiation leading to adult and fully functional organisms are finally replaced by degenerative processes. Enough energy, a certified program and ample supply of the substrates are essential to sustain cellular metabolism, biosynthesis of active biomolecules and functioning of the differentiated tissues and organs. These events need fine-tuning, synchronization and dynamic control by feedback regulatory systems. The endocrine system with its specialized glands and circulating hormones performs this orchestration of dynamic events and adjusted metabolic programs in the mammalian organism. My research interest lies not only in the generation, secretion and travel or paracrine action of the endocrine messengers, but also in the termination of the generated signals. J.W. Goethe put it nicely into the words of Mephisto in Faust I: "I am the Spirit that denies! And rightly too; for all that doth begin, should rightly to destruction run." This principle not only applies to living organisms in general, but also to more local processes such as wound healing, tissue regeneration or fracture repair. Many of these processes involve the local biosynthesis of paracrine signals, an activated immune system and spatially and temporally increased oxidative stress mediators. In parallel, antioxidative defence proteins are induced to confine these signals in time and space and avoid damage of bystanders. The class of selenocysteine-containing selenoproteins appears to mediate this function in vivo, and thus the study of their regulation and expression promises deeper insights into the molecular pathways of tissue regeneration and might offer convenient means to positively influence the outcome. Therefore, we are generating and characterizing transgenic mouse models with modified selenium metabolism and altered selenoprotein expression, we are verifying postulated pathways in cell culture analyses, and we try to establish new biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Next to the antioxidative pathways, a major focus is the analyses of the thyroid hormone axis, of alterations during inflammatory diseases and the changes brought about by a stimulated immune system, molecular regulation of selenoprotein translation, cancer research and sex-specific differences in all of these fields. |
| Publications: | Dumitrescu AM, Liao XH, Abdullah MS, Lado-Abeal J, Majed FA, Moeller LC, Boran G, Schomburg L, Weiss RE, Refetoff S (2005) Mutations in SECISBP2 result in abnormal thyroid hormone metabolism. Nat Genet. 37(11):1247-52. Schweizer U, Streckfuss F, Pelt P, Carlson BA, Hatfield DL, Köhrle J, Schomburg L (2005) Hepatically derived selenoprotein P is a key factor for kidney but not for brain selenium supply. Biochem J. 386(Pt 2):221-6. Schomburg L, Riese C, Michaelis M, Griebert E, Klein MO, Sapin R, Schweizer U, Köhrle J (2006) Synthesis and metabolism of thyroid hormones is preferentially maintained in selenium-deficient transgenic mice. Endocrinology. 147(3):1306-13. Riese C, Michaelis M, Mentrup B, Götz F, Köhrle J, Schweizer U, Schomburg L (2006) Selenium-dependent pre- and posttranscriptional mechanisms are responsible for sexual dimorphic expression of selenoproteins in murine tissues. Endocrinology. 147(12):5883-92. Schomburg L (2007) Selene, the goddess of the moon: does she shine on men only? Eur Heart J. 28(16):2043-4. Hollenbach B, Morgenthaler NG, Struck J, Alonso C, Bergmann A, Köhrle J, Schomburg L (2008) New assay for the measurement of selenoprotein P as a sepsis biomarker from serum. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 22(1):24-32. Schomburg L, Köhrle J (2008) On the importance of selenium and iodine metabolism for thyroid hormone biosynthesis and human health. Mol Nutr Food Res 52, 1235-46. Schweizer U, Weitzel JM, Schomburg L (2008) Think globally: act locally. New insights into the local regulation of thyroid hormone availability challenge long accepted dogmas. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 289(1-2):1-9. Renko K, Hofmann PJ, Stoedter M, Hollenbach B, Behrends T, Köhrle J, Schweizer U, Schomburg L (2009) Down-regulation of the hepatic selenoprotein biosynthesis machinery impairs selenium metabolism during the acute phase response in mice. FASEB Journal. Jan 9. [Epub ahead of print], PMID: 19136613 Schomburg, L, Schweizer U (2009) Hierarchical regulation of selenoprotein expression and sex-specific effects of selenium. Biochim Biophys Acta. Mar 25. [Epub ahead of print], PMID: 19328222 |
