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The Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I is involved in the preclinical training of medical and dental students. The Institute’s responsibility is to provide teaching in the biochemistry sector, focussing on biochemistry and pathobiochemistry of the human being.

Biochemistry and molecular biology are concerned with the molecular components and processes in the organism on a molecular level. This includes the course and control of metabolic routes, energy recovery, information storage or signal transmission and their disruptions on a molecular level which may result in diseases and disorders.

In the teaching sector, students are provided with basic know-how for the purpose of understanding not only clinical subjects but also pharmacology and toxicology.

The Institute’s main research activities focus on the field of “oxidative stress” in connection with the development and prevention of degenerative diseases. Oxidative stress refers to a metabolic situation in which reactive oxygen compounds are increasingly formed. If insufficient antioxidants are supplied, these oxygen compounds may cause damage on a molecular level and trigger off diseases.


Patient Care

As a preclinical institution, the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I is not involved in direct patient care.


Research and Teaching

The biochemistry of oxidative stress is the main area of research activities at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I. Aerobic metabolic processes, photobiological effects, the body’s own defence processes and exogenic contaminants result in the formation of reactive oxygen compounds in the organism. This also includes so-called free radicals, i.e. compounds which are highly reactive. They can modify or destroy biologically important molecules such as lipids, DNA or proteins.

Oxidative reactions play an important role in the development of diseases. In order to elucidate these correlations, scientists perform analyses on biochemical reaction mechanisms, gene-regulatory effects and cellular signal processes and carry out biokinetic investigations and intervention studies on human beings.

The objective involved is to establish the active mechanisms of reactive oxygen compounds and free radicals in the development of degenerative diseases and, by means of antioxidants, to develop prevention possibilities. Antioxidants can, for example, be supplied with food.

Scientists are investigating cellular signal cascades and intercellular communication routes which are affected by UV light in a light reaction and by singlet oxygen and peroxynitrite in a dark reaction. Singlet oxygen and peroxynitrite are particularly reactive forms of oxygen. The communication routes between the cells can then be modulated with antioxidants or micronutrients.

The organism has numerous defence systems which intercept the above-referenced reactive oxygen compounds or prevent and regulate their formation. These defence systems include different enzymes (catalasis, glutatione peroxidasis, super-oxide dismutasis), endogenic antioxidants such as glutatione and antioxidatively acting nutrients such as, for example, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, carotinoids and polyphenols.

Epidemiological studies have shown that the increased consumption of antioxidant-rich food reduces the risk of certain types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Based on their investigations, the staff at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I have developed approaches for therapy and prevention of diseases in humans. Thus, for example, it has been possible to evidence that compounds (carotinoids) which prevent damage due to UV radiation in in-vitro tests can also act as sun protection factors in humans and can be simply absorbed by way of food.

Furthermore, the Institute’s staff and scientists are investigating intercellular communication which is an important factor in controlling cellular growth and differentiation. These processes are of decisive significance in the growth of tumours since, in multicellular organisms, intercellular communication is a prerequisite for controlling and coordinating complex activities.

Communication can be by the secretion of signal molecules which are detected by the receptors of target cells and trigger off the appropriate reactions there. There is also the possibility of directly connecting cell formations by way of gap junctions. The physiological functions of these gap junctions permit nutrients to be transferred between connected cells, are involved in forwarding electrical signals and constitute intercellular routes for messenger substances.

Intercellular communication by way of gap junctions can be stimulated or inhibited by various substances. Inhibitors in gap junction communication are tumour promoters such as, for example, phorbolester. Carotinoids, flavonoids, thyroid hormones, thalidomide, retinal acid derivates or Vitamin D, are stimulators. ‘These compounds are used experimentally in tumour therapy. The activity of some of the above-referenced compounds was evidenced at the first time at the Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I.

In the research sector of oxidative stress, the Institute is internationally renowned and involved in cooperation with leading groups in the USA and Europe. Within the context of worldwide cooperation, numerous guest scientists, winners of the Humboldt Award, and holders of scholarships granted by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Catholic Academic Foreigner Service (KAAD) and the European Union (EU) have worked at the Institute.