Meinrad Busslinger

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Meinrad Busslinger (born July 30, 1952 in Gibstorf , Switzerland ) is a Swiss molecular biologist and immunologist who is known for his work in the field of B-cell development . Busslinger is Senior Scientist and Deputy Scientific Director of the Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna , Austria .

Life and academic career

Meinrad Busslinger grew up in the city of Zug (Switzerland), where he attended the canton school. From 1972 to 1976 he studied natural sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich , where he graduated in biochemistry .

From 1976 to 1981 Busslinger worked as a doctoral student with Max L. Birnstiel at the University of Zurich on the molecular analysis of the histone genes of the sea ​​urchin . His dissertation led to the discovery of important regulatory elements that regulate the transcriptional control of gene expression . In 1981 he received his doctorate in molecular biology.

The next station in his scientific career was a research stay (1981–1982) funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation as a post-doctoral student in Richard A. Flavell's group at the MRC Institute Mill Hill in London. Here Busslinger identified the mutation of a single base pair in the first intron of the beta globin gene as the molecular cause for the development of beta + thalassemia.

In 1983 Busslinger became a group leader at the Institute for Molecular Biology II at the University of Zurich. Here he discovered novel histone genes of the sea urchin and identified a tissue-specific transcription factor (TSAP) as an important regulator of these genes, which was later recognized as a member of the family of paired box (Pax) -containing transcription factors.

In 1987, Max Birnstiel recruited Busslinger as one of the first senior scientists at the new Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna. In 1996 Busslinger was appointed professor in molecular genetics at the University of Vienna . In 2007 he became Director of Academic Affairs and in 2013 Deputy Scientific Director of the IMP.

Research priorities

At the IMP, Busslinger identified a mammalian B-cell-specific transcription factor as a homologous protein of the sea urchin factor TSAP, which led to a shift in the focus of his research from sea urchin embryology to B-cell immunology. Protein purification and sequencing identified the B-cell-specific transcription factor as Pax5, and gene inactivation in the mouse defined Pax5 as an important regulator of B-cell development.

In 1999 Busslinger published the first molecular definition of a cell line determination process. Pax5 was identified as a determinant of the B-cell line, which by repression of genes expressed in other hematopoietic lines restricts the development potential of lymphoid progenitor cells on the B-cell line and at the same time promotes B-cell development by activating B-cell-specific genes. Further experiments showed that Pax5 plays an important role during the entire B-cell development and as a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein in B-cell leukemia. Busslinger and his laboratory also described the functions of other important transcription factors, such as E2A, EBF1, Ikaros and Blimp1, for the control of various aspects of B-cell immunity.

Busslinger also explored how the extended locus that codes for the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) contracts spatially through looping during early B-cell development in the nucleus. This contraction causes the V (variable) gene segments to come close to the D (diversity) segments, which enables V-to-DJ recombination, whereby a functional IgH gene can arise. Busslinger identified Pax5 as an essential regulator responsible for contraction by looping along the entire IgH locus.

Memberships and honors

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Research group Meinrad Busslinger. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Meinrad Busslinger's curriculum vitae. (PDF) Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP), accessed on January 8, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Meinrad Busslinger's curriculum vitae. (PDF) Research Institute for Molecular Pathology (IMP), accessed on January 8, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Barberis, A. et al .: Developmental and tissue-specific regulation of a novel trancription factor of the sea urchin. In: Genes and Development . tape 3 , 1989, pp. 663-675 .
  5. ↑ Czerny, T., et al .: The characterization of novel Pax genes of the sea urchin and Drosophila reveal an ancient evolutionary origin of the Pax2 / 5/8 subfamily . In: Mechanisms of Development . tape 67 , no. 2 , October 1997, p. 179-192 .
  6. ↑ Management IMP. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Adams, B., et al .: Pax-5 encodes the transcription factor BSAP and is expressed in B lymphocytes, the developing CNS, and adult testis . In: Genes and Development . tape 6 , 1992, pp. 1589-1607 .
  8. ↑ Nutt, SL, et al .: Commitment to the B-lymphoid lineage depends on the transcription factor Pax5. In: Nature . tape 401 , 1999, p. 556-562 .
  9. ↑ Hocher, M., et al .: Pax5 / BSAP Maintains the Identity of B Cells in Late B Lymphopoiesis . In: Immunity . tape 14 , no. 6 , June 1, 2001, p. 779-790 .
  10. ^ Wöhner, M., et al .: Molecular functions of the transcription factors E2A and E2-2 in controlling germinal center B cell and plasma cell development . In: Journal of Experimental Medicine . tape 213 , no. 7 , June 3, 2016.
  11. ↑ Vilagos, B., et al .: Essential role of EBF1 in the generation and function of distinct mature B cell types . In: Journal of Experimental Medicine . tape 209 , no. April 4 , 2012.
  12. ↑ Fuxa, M., et al .: Pax5 induces V-to-DJ rearrangements and locus contraction of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene . In: Genes and Development . tape 18 , 2004, p. 411-422 .
  13. ↑ Medvedovic, J., et al .: Flexible Long-Range Loops in the VH Gene Region of the Igh Locus Facilitate the Generation of a Diverse Antibody Repertoire . In: Immunity . tape 39 , no. 2 , August 22, 2013.
  14. ↑ EMBO membership directory. January 8, 2019, accessed January 8, 2019 .
  15. ↑ AE member entry . Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  16. ↑ START and Wittgenstein Prizes 2001 awarded. ORF, accessed on January 8, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Member entry Austrian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  18. ^ ERC Grant Database. Retrieved January 8, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Meeting Report. European Journal of Immunology, accessed January 8, 2019 .
  20. ↑ 2020 City of Vienna Prize - Natural Sciences
personal data
SURNAME Busslinger, Meinrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss molecular biologist and immunologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 30, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Gibstorf , Switzerland