Function and Regulation of the BAG3 Proteostasis System
The BAG3 protein is essential for maintaining our skeletal and cardiac muscles. In collaboration with molecular chaperones, it recognizes mechanically damaged cytoskeletal proteins and removes them via a degradation pathway known as chaperone-associated selective autophagy—or CASA for short. The removal of damaged proteins is a necessary prerequisite for maintaining muscle tissue. In fact, impairment of the BAG3 proteostasis system leads to severe muscle weakness in children and heart failure. Our current research focuses on how BAG3 activity is regulated in muscle tissue. The insights gained could, in the long term, enable the treatment of BAG3-dependent diseases.
The Effect of Weightlessness on the BAG3 System
The BAG3 system is activated in our muscles in response to mechanical stress. But what happens when there is no mechanical stimulation—for example, in astronauts in space or in immobilized intensive care patients? Could a dysregulation of the BAG3 system contribute to muscle loss in these situations? We are investigating these questions in a separate research project.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Jörg Höhfeld
Ulrich-Haberland-Str. 61a
53121 Bonn