Working Group Glycoimmunology

As covalently attached modifications of lipids and proteins or as freestanding entities glycans (mono- and oligosaccharides) are involved in several biological processes like the modulation of cell-cell interactions during organogenesis. Our research team is prevalently interested in the physiological role of these glycoconjugates in the male and female reproductive tract. To evaluate in a reproductive context the impact of different glycoconjugates during immunological and interaction processes as well as during cellular differentiation, analytical techniques like HPLC and nanoLC-ESI-MS in addition to different cell culture and animal models are applied.

Furthermore, we develop novel strategies for in-depth characterization of glycolconjugates and are interested to combine these techniques with laser-microdissection applications (laser-supported cell isolation from microscopic regions) to analyze the glycome of defined cell types during physiological and pathophysiological conditions.