Home| Lecturer in Cellular and Molecular Biology |
Contact details:
| Tel: | +44 20 7882 2271 |
| Fax: | +44 20 7882 2183 |
| Email: | j.groet@qmul.ac.uk |
| Address: | Centre for Paediatrics, |
Biography
Jürgen Groet was born in Purmerend (The Netherlands) in 1967 and studied in Beverwijk at the hogeschool Alkmaar . He worked for 4 years in Leiden as a research technician in a plant molecular biology lab, studying homologous recombination in higher plants. In 1994, he joined the team of Dean Nizetic at the Centre for Applied Molecular Biology, School of Pharmacy , University of London . At this place, he finished his Ph.D in January 2000, studying human chromosome 21q11. He worked as a Post doctoral researcher in the same lab. From June 2001, he obtained a Lectureship in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Barts and The London School of Medicine, University of London .
Research Activity
The long term research theme of Prof. Nizetic's group, of which Dr. Groet is part, is the study of chromosome and gene dose effects (aneuploidy and haploinsufficiency) on cellular functions, specifically the phenotypic features of Down syndrome (DS), caused by just one extra copy of perfectly normal, chromosome 21. The homeostasis of cellular proteins is significantly disturbed by an overdose of chromosome 21 genes and non-genic functional elements, causing multiple effects through poorly understood mechanisms: fewer (neuronal) cells are formed, they form fewer and hypo-functional synapses, neurons undergo compulsory Alzheimer's degeneration extremely early in life, heart endothelial cushion cells fail to close the septum, cells are much more resistant to dividing out of control and becoming cancer cells, the latter is true for most tissues except some haematopoietic lineages and spermatogonia, which are more prone to malignancy. From these facts, it is clear that much could be learned about cell proliferation, cell differentiation, neurodegeneration, and the protection from cancer, by identifying the molecular pathways and proteins which are altered by trisomy 21. The particular interests of the research of Dr. Groet is to determine which chromosome 21 genes are involved in TMD and AMKL (both myeloid leukaemia's with a 400 fold increased incidence in DS) and also to elucidate the proteomic imbalances which are evoked by an additional human chromosome 21.
Key Publications
. Serena De Vita, Claire Mulligan, Suzanne McElwaine, Franca Dagna-Bricarelli, Monica Spinelli, Giuseppe Basso, Dean Nizetic and Jürgen Groet. Loss-of-function jak3 mutations in TMD and AMKL of Down syndrome. British Journal of Haematology , May; 137 ( 4 ): 337-41 (2007).
. Jürgen Groet , Claire Mulligan, Monica Spinelli, Anna Serra, Suzanne McElwaine, Finbarr E. Cotter, Franca Dagna-Bricarelli, Giuseppe Saglio, Giuseppe Basso and Dean Nizetic. Independent clones at separable stages of differentiation, bearing different GATA1 mutations in the same TMD patient with Down Syndrome. Blood, 106(5):1887-1888 (2005).
. Suzanne McElwaine, Claire Mulligan, Jürgen Groet , Monica Spinelli, Andrea Rinaldi, Gareth Denyer, Afua Mensah, Simona Cavani, Chiara Baldo, Franca Dagna-Bricarelli, Ian Hann, Giuseppe Basso, Finbarr E Cotter and Dean Nizetic. Microarray transcript profiling distinguishes the transient from the acute type of megakaryoblastic leukaemia (M7) in Down's syndrome, revealing PRAME as a specific discriminating marker. British Journal of Haematology , 125:729-742 (2004).
. Jürgen Groet , Suzanne McElwaine, Monica Spinelli, Andrea Rinaldi, Ingo Burtscher, Claire Mulligan, Afua Mensah, Simona Cavani, Franca Dagna-Bricarelli, Giuseppe Basso, Finbarr E Cotter and Dean Nizetic. Acquired mutations in GATA1 in neonates with Down syndrome with Transient Myeloid Disorder. Lancet , 361:1617-1620 (2003).
. Juergen Groet , Jane H. Ives, Tania A. Jones, Malcolm Danton, Rachel H. Flomen, Denise Sheer, Reno Hrascan, Kresimir Pavelic & Dean Nizetic. Narrowing of the Region of Allelic Loss in 21q11-21 in Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma and Cloning of a Novel Ubiquitin Specific Protease Gene from the Deleted Segment. Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer, 27(2):153-161 (2000).
. Juergen Groet , Jane H. Ives, Andrew P.South, Pedro R. Baptista, Tania A. Jones, Marie-Laure Yaspo, Hans Lehrach, Marie-Claude Potier, Christine Van Broeckhoven & Dean Nizetic ; Bacterial contig map of the 21q11 region associated with Alzheimer's disease and abnormal myelopoiesis in Down syndrome. Genome Research , 8:385-398 (1998).
