For our research projects, we use various kidney cell lines, such as podocyte cell lines and tubule cell lines. The respective gene/protein under investigation can be examined by overexpression (e.g. of GFP-labeled proteins) or gene inactivation via Crispr/CAS9. In order to produce the necessary plasmids, we also work with chemically competent bacterial cultures (Escherichia coli) for the cloning processes.

In addition to cell biology systems, we also use more complex systems such as transgenic flies (Drosophila melanogaster) or transgenic mouse models (e.g. knockout mice). This enables us to investigate the significance of individual genes or disease-associated variants for kidney function in vivo. In this way, we try to better understand the molecular basis of kidney diseases so that new therapeutic approaches can be developed in the future.

We analyze the genes/proteins in the various model systems using biochemical (e.g. Western blotting, protein immunoprecipitation, MTT assay), molecular biological (e.g. RNA/DNA isolation, qRT-PCR, sequencing) and microscopic (e.g. immunohistochemical or immunofluorescence staining) methods.