Whole-cell, perforated patch, cell-attached, voltage-clamp, current-clamp, membrane capacitance, carbon fiber amperometry, flash photolysis, loose-patch, field potential recordings

Calcium imaging, STED (stimulated emission depletion) microscopy, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM), particle tracking, confocal microscopy (Elyra), structured illumination microscopy (SIM), photoactivatable light microscopy (PALM)

Neurons from various brain regions, chromaffin cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, astrocytes, BHK cells, 293 cells and many more 

CRISPR/Cas; Tissue-specific; Inducible; Knock-in; Molecular biology

Collaborative studies include: in situ hybridization, single cell/small tissue isolation and gene analysis

chemical fixation EM, high pressure freezing EM, correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM)

Chromaffin cells
Cytotoxic T lymphocytes

FACS AriaIII

Four laser lines

Book here:

Ca²⁺ Signals: Molecular Mechanisms and Integrative Functions 

Complex Membrane Proteins in Cellular Development and Disease

Chang HF, Mannebach S, Beck A, Ravichandran K, Krause E, Frohnweiler K, Fecher-Trost C, Schirra C,  Pattu V, Flockerzi V and Rettig J. Cytotoxic granule exocytosis depends on the Flower protein. jcb 2018 Feb 5;217(2):667-683/jcb.201706053. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-6881-7_11. PMID: 28255702

Ratai O, Schirra C, Rajabov E, Brunk I, Ahnert-Hilger G, Chitirala P, Becherer U, Stevens DR, Rettig J. An alternative exon of CAPS2 influences catecholamine loading into LDCVs of chromaffin cells. J Neurosci. 2018 Nov 2. pii: 2040-18. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2040-18.2018. PMID:30389842

Sleiman M, Stevens DR, Rettig J. Simultaneous Membrane Capacitance Measurements and TIRF Microscopy to Study Granule Trafficking at Immune Synapses. Methods Mol Biol. 2017;1584:157-169. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-6881-7_11. PMID: 28255702

Chang HF, Bzeih H, Chitirala P, Ravichandran K, Sleiman M, Krause E, Hahn U, Pattu V, Rettig J. Preparing the lethal hit: interplay between exo- and endocytic pathways in cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2017 Feb;74(3):399-408. doi: 10.1007/s00018-016-2350-7. PMID: 27585956

Chang HF, Bzeih H, Schirra C, Chitirala P, Halimani M, Cordat E, Krause E, Rettig J, Pattu V. Endocytosis of Cytotoxic Granules Is Essential for Multiple Killing of Target Cells by T Lymphocytes. J Immunol. 2016 Sep 15;197(6):2473-84. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600828. PMID: 27527597

Bhat SS, Friedmann KS, Knörck A, Hoxha C, Leidinger P, Backes C, Meese E, Keller A, Rettig J, Hoth M, Qu B, Schwarz EC. Syntaxin 8 is required for efficient lytic granule trafficking in cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016 Jul;1863(7 Pt A):1653-64. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2016.04.014. PMID: 27094127

Thorn P, Zorec R, Rettig J, Keating DJ. Exocytosis in non-neuronal cells. J Neurochem. 2016 Jun;137(6):849-59. doi: 10.1111/jnc.13602. PMID: 26938142 

Man KN, Imig C, Walter AM, Pinheiro PS, Stevens DR, Rettig J, Sørensen JB, Cooper BH, Brose N, Wojcik SM. Identification of a Munc13-sensitive step in chromaffin cell large dense-core vesicle exocytosis. Elife. 2015 Nov 17;4. pii: e10635. doi: 10.7554/eLife.10635. PMID: 26575293

Stevens DR, Ratai O, Rettig J. Interactions with membrane lipids and SNARE complex underlie dual roles for Calcium-dependent activator proteins for secretion (CAPS) in large dense-core vesicles (LDCVS) priming. Physiological Mini Reviews. 2015 Nov-Dec Vol. 8 Nº 6. 

Ming M, Schirra C, Becherer U, Stevens DR, Rettig J. Behavior and Properties of Mature Lytic Granules at the Immunological Synapse of Human Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes. PLoS One. 2015 Aug 21;10(8):e0135994. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135994. PMID: 26296096 

Nguyen Truong CQ, Nestvogel D, Ratai O, Schirra C, Stevens DR, Brose N, Rhee J, Rettig J. Secretory vesicle priming by CAPS is independent of its SNARE-binding MUN domain. Cell Rep. 2014 Nov 6;9(3):902-9. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.09.050. PMID: 25437547

Koers EJ, van der Cruijsen EA, Rosay M, Weingarth M, Prokofyev A, Sauvée C, Ouari O, van der Zwan J, Pongs O, Tordo P, Maas WE, Baldus M. NMR-based structural biology enhanced by dynamic nuclear polarization at high magnetic field. J Biomol NMR. 2014 Nov;60(2-3):157-68. doi: 10.1007/s10858-014-9865-8. PMID: 25284462

Pattu V, Halimani M, Ming M, Schirra C, Hahn U, Bzeih H, Chang HF, Weins L, Krause E, Rettig J. In the crosshairs: Visualizing lytic granules by high resolution microscopy and electrophysiology. Front Immunol. 2013 Nov 27;4:411. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00411. PMID: 24348478

Bost A, Pasche M, Schirra C, Becherer U. Super-resolution microscopy in studying neuroendocrine cell function. Front Neurosci. 2013 Nov 25;7:222. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00222. PMID: 24324394 

Hugo S, Dembla E, Halimani M, Matti U, Rettig J, Becherer U. Deciphering dead-end docking of large dense core vesicles in bovine chromaffin cells. J Neurosci. 2013 Oct 23;33(43):17123-37. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1589-13.2013. PMID: 24155316 

2012

Schattling B, Steinbach K, Thies E, Kruse M, Menigoz A, Ufer F, Flockerzi V, Brück W, Pongs O, Vennekens R, Kneussel M, Freichel M, Merkler D, Friese MA. TRPM4 cation channel mediates axonal and neuronal degeneration in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and multiple sclerosis. Nat Med. 2012 Dec;18(12):1805-11. doi: 10.1038/nm.3015. PMID: 23160238 

Becherer U, Medart MR, Schirra C, Krause E, Stevens D, Rettig J. Regulated exocytosis in chromaffin cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes: how similar are they? Cell Calcium. 2012 Sep-Oct;52(3-4):303-12. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2012.04.002. PMID: 22560267

Pasche M, Matti U, Hof D, Rettig J, Becherer U. Docking of LDCVs is modulated by lower intracellular [Ca2+] than priming. PLoS One. 2012;7(5):e36416. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036416. PMID: 22590540