Cell Signaling and Cell Cycle
The group will transfer from University of Copenhagen to Danish Cancer Institute by March 1, 2025
Our research
The ability of cells to respond to changes in the cellular enviroment is highly dependent on cellular signaling mechanisms. In the lab we are focusing on signaling mediated by the post translational modification of proteins by phosphorylation. Signaling mediated by protein phosphorylation is wide spread and are often deregulated in cancer to allow uncontrolled cell growth. The phosphorylation of proteins is mediated by kinases while this activity is antagonised by protein phosphatases. In the lab we focus on how protein phosphatases recognize their substrates and how this contributes to regulation of signaling. We integrate CRISPR screening technologies with cell based and biochemical assays to provide a deep understanding of protein phosphatase biology. This provides a framework for understanding deregulation of signaling in cancer and how this might be exploited for therapeutic strategies.
Hertz EPT, Kruse T, Davey NE, López-Méndez B, Sigurdsson JO, Montoya G, Olsen JV, Nilsson J: A conserved motif provides binding specificity to th PP2A-B56 phosphatase. Mol Cell 2016, 63(4):686-695
Hein JB, Hertz EPT, Garvanska DH, Kruse T, Nilsson J: Distinct kinetics of serine and threonine dephosphorylation are essential for mitosis. Nat Cell Biol 2017; 19(12):1433-1440
Ueki Y, Kruse T, Weisser MB, Sundell GN, Larsen MSY, Lopez-Mendez B, Jenkins NP, Gavanska DH, Cressey L, Zhang G, Davey N, Montoya G, Ivarsson Y, Kettenbach AN, Nilsson J : A consensus binding motif for the PP4 protein phosphatase. Mol Cell 2019; 76(6):953-964
.Kruse T, Gnosa SP, Nasa I, Garvanska DH, Hein JB, Nguyen H, Samsøe-Petersen J, Lopez-Mendez B, Hertz EPT, Schwarz J, Pena HS, Nikodemus D, Kveiborg M, Kettenbach AN, Nilsson J : Mechanisms of site-specific dephosphorylation and kinase oppostion imposed by PP2A regulatory subunits. EMBO J 2020; 39(13):e103695
Kruse T, Garvanska DH, Varga JK, Garland W, McEwan BC, Hein JB, Weisser MB, Benavides-Puy I, Chan CB, Sotelo-Parrila P, Lopez-Mendez B, Jeyaprakash AA, Schueler-Furman O, Jensen TH, Kettenbach A, Nilsson J: Substrate recognition principles for the PP2A-B55 protein phosphatase. Science Advances 2024; 10(40):eadp5491
Group leader: Jakob Nilsson
Jakob Nilsson conducted his PhD studies in the lab of Professor Jørgen Kjems at University of Aarhus focusing on transport of proteins in and out of the nucleus. He subsequently joined the lab of Professor Poul Nissen at University of Aarhus as a postdoc to work on the structure of the eukaryotic ribosome. He conducted a second postdoc in the lab of Jon Pines at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge focusing on cell division. In 2009 he started his lab at BRIC, UCPH supported by a Lundbeck Junior Group Leader Fellowship and in 2011 he moved to the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research. In 2023 he was awarded a Distinguished Investigator grant from NNF to continue his work on protein phosphatases.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakob-nilsson-73149583/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nilssonlab.bsky.social
ORCID: 0000-0003-4100-1125
Staff
Contact information for all staff in CSC will appear later