The Department was organized in 1977 (initially as the Department of Enzymology) by professor P.P. Philippov, a follower of Professors S.E. Severin and G.A. Kochetov, who is an unchallenged head of the Department until now.
Research areas
- Molecular mechanisms of phototransduction and visual signalling proteins
(Dr. E.Yu. Zernii, Dr. I.I. Senin, Dr. N.K. Tikhomirova).
- Molecular and cellular mechanisms of degeneration and regeneration of the retina
(O.S. Gancharova, Prof. P.P. Philippov).
- Cancer-retina antigens
(Dr. A.V. Bazhin, Dr. M.S. Savchenko, M.O. Golovastova, Dr. E.E. Skorikova, Prof. P.P. Philippov).
Research results
- Prediction of the existence of the factor capable of activating transducin GTPase [Arshavsky et al. FEBS Lett. 1989;250:353-6].
- Discovery of the novel Са2+-binding protein p26 or recoverin [Dizhur A.M., Nekrasova E.R., Filippov P.P. New 26 kDa protein specific for photoreceptor cells, capable of binding with immobilized delipidized rhodopsin. Biokhimiya. 1991;56:225-9; Dizhoor et al. Science. 1991;251:915-8; Ray et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 1992;89:5705-9; Dizhoor et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1992;267:16033-6; Dizhoor et al. Science. 1993;259:829-32].
- Identification of rhodopsin kinase as an intracellular target for recoverin [Gorodovikova EN, Philippov PP. FEBS Lett. 1993;335:277-79; Gorodovikova et al. FEBS Lett. 1994;349:187-90; Gorodovikova EN, Senin II, Philippov PP. FEBS Lett. 1994;353:171-2].
- Demonstration of the higher efficiency of recoverin as an inhibitor of high gain rhodopsin phosphorylation in comparison with light-dependent phosphorylation [Senin et al. Biochem. J. 1997;320:551-5; Senin II, Zargarov AA, Akhtar M, Philippov PP. FEBS Lett. 1997;408:251-4].
- Elucidation of the functional role of the specific Са2+-binding centers of recoverin [Alekseev et al. FEBS Lett. 1998;440:116-8; Permyakov et al. Protein Eng. 2000;13:783-90; Fisher T, Senin II, Philippov PP, Koch K-W. Spectroscopy 2002;16:271-79; Senin et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2002;52:50365-72; Weiergräber et al. J. Biol. Chem. 2003;278:22972-9; Senin et al. J. Mol. Biol. 2003;330:409-18].
- Demonstration of the presence of annexins in mammalian photoreceptors [Zernii et al. Annexins. 2004;1:44-50].
- Detection of autoantibodies against recoverin (anti-Rc) in sera of patients with lung cancer in the absence of paraneoplastic degeneration of the retina; estimation of the anti-Rc frequencies in sera and expression of recoverin in lung tumors [Bazhin et al. Lung Cancer. 2001;34:99-104; Savchenko et al. Lung Cancer. 2003;41:363-67; Bazhin et al. Lung Cancer. 2004;44:193-8].
- Elucidation of the modulatory role of the recoverin C-terminal fragment and the mechanism of the Са2+-dependent control of rhodopsin kinase by recoverin [Weiergräber OH et al. Tuning of a neuronal calcium sensor. J. Biol. Chem. 2006;281:37594-602; Senin II et al. Membrane binding of the neuronal calcium sensor recoverin - modulatory role of the charged carboxy-terminus. BMC Biochem. 2007;8:24; Komolov KE et al. Mechanism of rhodopsin kinase regulation by recoverin. J. Neurochem. 2009;110:72-9; Zernii EYu et al. Biochem. J. 2011;435:441-50].
- Detection of recoverin and other key photoreceptor proteins in malignant tumors different from lung tumors; formulation of the conception of cancer-retina antigens [Bazhin AV et al. Recoverin as a cancer-retina antigen. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 2007;56:110-6; Bazhin AV et al. Photoreceptor proteins as cancer-retina antigens. Int. J. Cancer. 2007;120:1268-76; Bazhin AV et al. Visible light modulates the expression of cancer-retina antigens. Mol. Cancer Res. 2008;6:110-8; Bazhin AV et al. Cancer-retina antigens as potential paraneoplastic antigens in melanoma-associated retinopathy. Int. J. Cancer. 2009;124:140-9].
- Demonstration of the functional role of the aberrant expression of transducin and cGMP-phosphodiesterase in melanoma cells [Bazhin AV et al. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 2010;67:817-28].
- Estimation of the frequencies of autoantibodies against recoverin and other cancer-retina antigens in sera of patients with various malignant tumors [Savchenko MS et al. Autoantibodies against a Ca2+-binding protein recoverin in blood sera of patients with various oncological diseases. Oncol. Lett. 2012;3:377-82].
- Demonstration of the role of the aberrant demethylation of the recoverin gene in the aberrant expression of this protein in tumor cells [Bazhin AV et al. Aberrant demethylation of the recoverin gene is involved in the aberrant expression of recoverin in cancer cells. Exp. Dermatol. 2010;19:1023-1025].
Grants and projects
Participation in scientific programmes
"Investigation of the visual signalling proteins" jointly with Research Center Jülich and Oldenburg University (Germany); "Investigation of the molecular recognition of visual rhodopsin and rhodopsin kinase" jointly with Polytechnical University of Catalonia and Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain); "Investigation of the aberrant expression of recoverin in malignant tumors of lung" jointly with Institute of Pulmonology Research Institute, N.N. Blokhin Russian Oncological Scientific Centre, I.M. Setchenov Moscow Medical Academy (Russia), and Philipps-University Marburg (Germany); "Investigation of the effect of antibodies against recoverin upon tumor cells" jointly with Cancer Research Center, University of Heidelberg, and Philipps-University Marburg (Germany); "Investigation of the molecular mechanisms of the aberrant expression of recoverin in malignant tumors" jointly with Brussels Brunch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Belgium) and Cancer Research Center, University of Heidelberg (Germany); "Investigation of the aberrant expression of recoverin and other cancer-retina antigens in malignant tumors" jointly with Cancer Research Center and University Hospital Heidelberg, University Heidelberg (Germany).
Grants and stipends
A number of grants from: Russian Foundation for Basic Research and President of Russia; International Human Frontier Science Program; Royal Society and Wellcome Trust (Great Britain); German Research Society for Academic Exchanges, DAAD and German Research Society, DFG (Germany); Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (USA); Research Center Jülich (Germany); National Center for Scientific Research, CRNS (France); INTAS, and others.
Prizes
Yu.A. Ovchinnikov Award of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Biochemical Society; Stipends of President of Russia and of M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Educational activity
Training of a number of under- and postgraduate students from Biological and Chemical Faculties, and from Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics; lecture courses and biochemical workshop for Biological faculty and Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics.