Matthias Kneussel

Matthias Kneussel studied biology at the University of Darmstadt and at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in Frankfurt am Main, and received his PhD in 1997 for his doctoral thesis at University College London (UCL). After completing his postdoctoral training at UCL London, he moved to the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in Frankfurt am Main, where he became group leader of the neurotransmitter receptors team. In 2002, he joined the Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH) at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) as a research group leader, where he focused on the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. In 2010, he became director of the newly founded Institute for Molecular Neurogenetics and was elected director of the ZMNH for the period 2018 to 2025. His scientific interests focus on subcellular transport mechanisms and the dynamics of cytoskeletal elements underlying synaptic plasticity in neurons. He has also investigated risk genes for neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases associated with synaptic dysfunction. Within the framework of FOR 5705, he is interested in the role of neuroinflammatory triggers in influencing axonal transport and presynaptic mechanisms in multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

Publications

Purkinje cell hyperexcitability and depressive-like behavior in mice lacking erg3 (ether-à-go-go-related gene) K+ channel subunits. Schwarz J.R., Freitag S., Pechmann Y. et al. Sci Adv. 10, eadn6836 (2024).

Disruption of tubulin-alpha4a polyglutamylation prevents aggregation of hyper-phosphorylated tau and microglia activation in mice. Hausrat T.J., Janiesch P.C., Breiden P. et al. Nat Commun. 13, 4192 (2022).

Muskelin Coordinates PrPC Lysosome versus Exosome Targeting and Impacts Prion Disease Progression. Heisler F.F., Pechmann Y., Wieser I. et al. Neuron. 99, 1155-1169.e9 (2018).

Radixin regulates synaptic GABAA receptor density and is essential for reversal learning and short-term memory. Hausrat T.J., Muhia M., Gerrow K. et al. Nat Commun. 6, 6872 (2015).

Muskelin regulates actin filament- and microtubule-based GABA(A) receptor transport in neurons. Heisler F.F., Loebrich S., Pechmann Y. et al. Neuron. 70, 66-81 (2011).

Links

Institute for Molecular Neurogenetics

Institution