Protein Repair & Inborn Errors of Metabolism
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Group Leader Emile Van Schaftingen Maria Veiga-da-Cunha Contact Emile Van Schaftingen de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain BCHM-GRM - B1.75.08, Avenue Hippocrate 75, 5th floor B-1200 Brussels phone: 32 (0)2 764 75 64 fax: 32 (0)2 764 74 98 e-mail: Emile Van Schaftingen Maria Veiga-da-Cunha de Duve Institute and Université catholique de Louvain BCHM-GRM - B1.75.08, Avenue Hippocrate 75, 5th floor B-1200 Brussels phone: 32 (0)2 764 75 59 fax: 32 (0)2 764 74 98 e-mail: Maria Veiga-da-Cunha Group members > |
Research topics
1. Deglycation: Glycation is the result of a spontaneous reaction of sugars (glucose, glucose 6-phosphate, ribose 5-phosphate) with amino groups of proteins and of low-molecular-weight compounds. Our group has identified enzymes (e.g. fructosamine 3-kinase) that repair glycation. Our major goal is to establish the role of these enzymes in protein deglycation and to understand the physiological and physiopathological significance of this novel form of protein repair.
2. Neurometabolic disorders: The loss of activity of enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism most often results in dysfunction of the brain, despite the fact that the enzymatic defect is present in all tissues and not simply in brain. One aim of our group is to identify enzymes that are deficient in neurometabolic disorders and to understand the mechanism by which the enzymatic defects lead to neurotoxicity.
