Thomas Langer MD

Prof. Langer’s team studies the role of mitochondrial proteases for the maintenance of mitochondrial activities. These proteases conduct the surveillance of the mitochondrial proteome and degrade misfolded and damaged proteins to prevent their possibly deleterious accumulation within the organelle. Moreover, they maintain the functional integrity of mitochondria by degrading or processing key regulatory proteins that control diverse steps during mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics. Mutations in several of these proteases cause diverse neurodegenerative disorders and are associated with cardiomyopathies. The work of Prof. Langer and his team aims at understanding the molecular mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of these diseases.