Molecular Physiology
Research Interest
Frank Kirchhoff | Molecular Physiology
Our research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neuron-glia interaction in the central nervous system.
We are pursuing two main research questions:
- How do glial transmitter receptors sense and modulate synaptic transmission? What is the impact for living organisms?
- How do glial cells respond to acute injuries within the central nervous system?
For functional analysis we generated (and are still continuing to develop) transgenic mouse models with cell-type specific expression of various fluorescent proteins (FPs) and inducible gene deletion. We are applying a combination of biochemical and molecular biological methods together with imaging techniques such as two-photon laser-scanning microscopy (2P-LSM) or CCD imaging.