Biochemistry I - Receptor biochemistry

We congratulate Christine Haake on winning the award of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) for the best Master's thesis in Biochemistry 2023. Photo: RUB, Marquard

After 24 years as the Chair of Biochemistry I - Receptor Biochemistry, Prof. Dr. Michael Hollmann is retiring. We thank him for the many years of good cooperation and wish him all the best for the future.

We congratulate My Tien Luu on achieving her doctorate degree.

On 1 October 2022 the anniversary celebration “30 Years of Biochemistry at the RUB” took place in a festive setting at the Event Center of the Ruhr University Bochum. The Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry had invited all diploma, doctoral, bachelor and master graduates of its biochemistry programme of the last 30 years - and many had accepted the invitation. A total of 125 guests enjoyed the reunion with their former fellow students and the 21 short lectures by biochemistry alumni peppered with memories. A detailed report about the anniversary celebration can be found on the website of the faculty.

We congratulate Sebastian Obst on achieving his doctorate degree.

Up to 20% of the population carry anti­bodies against glutamate receptors of the NMDA type independent of any disease, with pre­valence increasing with age. In colla­bo­ration with the Clinical Neuroscience Group of Hannelore Ehrenreich at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, we have now shown a similar prevalence of antibodies against NMDA receptors in other mammals. Dogs, cats, rats and mice also displayed the age de­penden­cy found in most humans, whereas baboons and rhesus macaques in captivity did not. Based on this result and the observation that human migrants also show a weaker age dependency, we hypothesise that chronic stress triggers the antibody production.

When we immunised mice against NMDA receptors, they produced large amounts of antibodies. When the animals had a disrupted blood-brain barrier, they showed psychosis-like symptoms like the ones known to be caused by drug-induced NMDA receptor block. However, none of the animals had any signs of brain inflammation (encephalitis). This indicates that some of the symptoms observed in encephalitis patients carrying antibodies against NMDA receptors may indeed be caused by the antibodies, whereas the encephalitis itself has another cause.

Abstract. The complete article is openly accessible.