Research Projects Dutzler Group

Mechanisms of Transmembrane Ion Transport

The flow of ions across cellular membranes underlies important physiological processes, such as electrical signalling, transepithelial transport and the control of the cell volume and the pH.

We are interested in the mechanisms by which ion channels and ion transporters catalyze these selective transport processes.

We study the structure and function of selected families of ion transport proteins taking an interdisciplinary approach. As a prerequisite for studying function we are determining the structure of these transmembrane transport proteins, of regulatory domains and accessory proteins by X-ray crystallography.

Subsequently, we investigate the transport mechanisms by means of biochemical, structural and electrophysiological methods.

Our main focus is currently on the ClC family of chloride channels and transporters.