Interfakultärer Lehrstuhl für Neurobiologische Forschung/Interfaculty Chair for Neurobiological Research
Dr. rer. nat., Universitätsprofessor
Till Marquardt
RWTH Aachen University Medicine (UKA), Clinic for Neurology & Faculty for Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences, Institute for Biology 2
Office: Institute for Biologie 2,
Worringer Weg 3, Raum 0.111
D-52074 Aachen
Sekretariat/Contact
Marijke Steitz
m.steitz@sensorik.rwth-aachen.de
Tel./Phone: +49 (0)241 80-20818
Research Overview: Motor system development and disease
Our research touches upon three fundamental questions in neuroscience: how does the functional architecture of the nervous system assemble during development? How are the properties of its cellular components tuned to facilitate neural network function? And how can the nervous system be protected from or restored after injury and disease? Our desire is to resolve cellular and molecular events underlying these processes and to understand their contribution to nervous system structure, function and/or dysfunction in the context of the organism. To achieve this, we exploit the unique position of the neuromuscular and peripheral nervous systems at the interface of brain and body to link aspects of neural wiring and firing to readily measurable outputs to movement apparatus or organ function in the mouse. We employ a cross-disciplinary approach comprising molecular genetic, cell biological and electrophysiological techniques, combined with movement analysis and neuromuscular output assays, to resolve molecular pathways promoting functional diversification, function and vulnerability in the neuromuscular system (project area I) and mechanisms driving axon-axon and axon-glia signaling in peripheral circuit assembly or pathology (project area II).
Selected Publications:
Mudassar N. Khan, Pitchaiah Cherukuri, Francesco Negro, Ashish Rajput, Piotr Fabrowski, Vikas Bansal, Camille Lancelin, Tsung-I Lee, Yehan Bian, William P. Mayer, Turgay Akay, Daniel Müller, Stefan Bonn, Dario Farina and Till Marquardt. ERR2 and ERR3 promote the development of gamma motor neuron functional properties required for proprioceptive movement control. PLoS Biol 20(12): e3001923. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001923
Müller D, Cherukuri P, Henningfeld K, Poh CH, Wittler L, Grote P, Schlüter O, Schmidt J, Laborda J, Bauer SR, Brownstone RM, Marquardt T. Dlk1 promotes a fast motor neuron biophysical signature required for peak force execution. Science. 2014 Mar 14;343(6176):1264-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1246448. PMID: 24626931.
Wang L, Mongera A, Bonanomi D, Cyganek L, Pfaff SL, Nüsslein-Volhard C, Marquardt T. A conserved axon type hierarchy governing peripheral nerve assembly. Development. 2014 May;141(9):1875-83. doi: 10.1242/dev.106211. Epub 2014 Apr 3. PMID: 24700820.
Bonanomi D, Chivatakarn O, Bai G, Abdesselem H, Lettieri K, Marquardt T, Pierchala BA, Pfaff SL. Ret is a multifunctional coreceptor that integrates diffusible- and contact-axon guidance signals. Cell. 2012 Feb 3;148(3):568-82. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.024. PMID: 22304922; PMCID: PMC3286831.
Wang L, Marquardt T. Direct live monitoring of heterotypic axon-axon interactions in vitro. Nat Protoc. 2012 Jan 26;7(2):351-63. doi: 10.1038/nprot.2011.442. PMID: 22281870.
Wang L, Klein R, Zheng B, Marquardt T. Anatomical coupling of sensory and motor nerve trajectory via axon tracking. Neuron. 2011 Jul 28;71(2):263-77. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2011.06.021. PMID: 21791286.
Gallarda BW, Bonanomi D, Müller D, Brown A, Alaynick WA, Andrews SE, Lemke G, Pfaff SL, Marquardt T. Segregation of axial motor and sensory pathways via heterotypic trans-axonal signaling. Science. 2008 Apr 11;320(5873):233-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1153758. PMID: 18403711; PMCID: PMC3158657.
