SFB / Transregio 23
"Vascular Differentiation and Remodeling"

Mannheim - Heidelberg - Frankfurt

Prof. Dr. Thomas Wieland Institut für Experimentelle und Klinische Pharmakologie und Toxikologie der Medizinischen Fakultät Mannheim Maybachstraße 14 D-68169 Mannheim Phone: 0049 (0)621 383 9610 Lab Homepage
	thomas.wieland(at)medma.uni-heidelberg.de
B6: Characterization of Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase B as a novel regulator of angiogenesis
The loss of Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase (NDPK) B but not of the similarly abundant isoform NDPK A blunts VEGF-driven angiogenic responses in animal models (zebrafish, mice) and in cultured endothelial cells. NDPK B is a not well characterized regulator of major signaling cascades acting either as a scaffold protein or as a protein histidine kinase on G proteins and KCa3.1 potassium channels. The project aims to identify the mechanisms by which NDPK B preferentially influences pathological angiogenesis. We will therefore investigate a) the role of NDPK B and its complex partners in VEGFinduced opening of endothelial junctions and b) the importance of NDPK B as a constitutive activator of KCa3.1 during vascular remodeling.