Prof. Dr. Thomas Gasser
Speaker and Group Leader
Prof. Gasser is member of the directory board at the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3
72076 Tübingen
thomas.gasser(at)dzne.de
+49 (0) 7071 / 29-86529
+49 (0) 7071 / 29-4839
More information
Areas of investigation/research focus
Our group collaborates intensively with groups at the Hertie-Institute and the University of Tübingen. Thereby, group leaders from both institutions are heavily involved in research at the DZNE.
We focus on investigating Parkinson's syndrome, which is, according to the Alzheimer's dementia the second most common neurodegenerative disease with a steadily demographically increasing prevalence. The group deals with the analysis of genetic factors involved in Parkinson's disease and with the question of which proteins are involved in onset and progression of Parkinson's disease.
DZNE-Research of Prof. Dr. Philipp Kahle (Hertie Institute): In the framework of the DZNE, the group of Prof. Kahle deals with the characterization of the protein α-synuclein. Furthermore, they study the molecular link between diabetes and neurodegeneration. Type-2 diabetes is a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. Though, free fatty acids seem to play a role through the activation of glia cells and astrocytes leading to inflammation of nerve cells and ultimately to neurodegeneration. A second focus is on the study of PINK1 and parkin gene products, which are involved in Parkinson's disease. The group of Kahle found out that parkin plays an important role in the autophagic degradation of dysfunctional mitochondria. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a key factor in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
DZNE-Research of Prof. Dr. Krueger Rejko (Hertie Institute): Previously identified genes that have a causal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease encode for proteins that play a role in the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation and / or intracytoplasmic protein aggregation. Thus, results indicate a disturbance of the ubiquitin-proteasome system in Parkinson disease. The unctional characterization of mutations in disease genes for an autosomal recessive Parkinson syndrome also show that impaired mitochondrial function leads to neurodegeneration. Currently, the laboratory of Prof. Krüger genes identified in terms of their importance in intracellular protein aggregation, mitochondrial function and nerve cell death studied using transient and stable transfected cell culture models.
DZNE-Research of Prof. Dr. Daniela Berg (Hertie Institute): The group of Prof. Berg leads the so called TREND study “Tübingen collection of risk factors for detection of neurodegeneration" at the DZNE. The aim of the study is to enable earlier diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and to find methods to observe the progression of the disease. First results show that people at older ages with current or recurrent depression, a specific sleep disorder, or disturbance of olfaction may have an increased risk of developing Parkinson's or Alzheimer's dementia. However, the majority of the people with these disorders will never suffer from these diseases. The group wants to find out what distinguishes those individuals who are at higher risk of developing Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, by those who do not suffer the same risk.
DZNE-Research of Prof. Dr. Ludger Schöls (Hertie Institute): Spastic paraplegia is a group of hereditary degenerative diseases of the upper motor neuron, leading to a gradually progressive gait disturbance due to spasticity and weakness of the legs. Despite the rarity of the disease, spastic paraplegia is no single disease but is divided into at least 32 genetic subtypes. The group led by Ludger Schöls searches for the responsible genes of subtypes and examined functional changes to the development of standards for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis.
Publications (Selection)
Influence of Lithium Treatment on GDNF Serum and CSF Concentrations in Patients with Early Alzheimer΄s Disease.
G Straten, R Saur, C Laske, T Gasser, P Annas, H Basun, T Leyhe; Curr Alzheimer Res. 2011 Dec 1;8(8):853-9.
Autoantibodies against amyloid and glial-derived antigens are increased in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of lewy body-associated dementias
W Maetzler, D Berg, M Synofzik, K Brockmann, J Godau, A Melms, T Gasser, S Hörnig, M Langkamp; J Alzheimers Dis. 2011;26(1):171-9.
Role of sepiapterin reductase gene at the PARK3 locus in Parkinson's disease
M Sharma, DM Maraganore, JPA Ioannidis, O Riess, JO Aasly, G Annesi, N Abahuni, AR Bentivoglio, A Brice, C Van Broeckhoven, M-C Chartier-Harlin, A Destée, A Djarmati, A Elbaz, M Farrer, C Ferrarese, JM Gibson, S Gispert, N Hattori, B Jasinska-Myga, C Klein, S Lesage, T Lynch, P Lichtner, J-C Lambert, AE Lang, GD Mellick, F De Nigris, G Opala, A Quattrone, C Riva, E Rogaeva, OA Ross, W Satake, PA Silburn, J Theuns, T Toda, H Tomiyama, RJ Uitti, KWirdefeldt, Z Wszolek, T Gasser, R Krüger; Neurobiol Aging. 2011 Nov;32(11):2108.e1-5. Epub 2011 Jul 22.
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 15: diagnostic assessment, frequency, and phenotypic features.
Synofzik M, Beetz C, Bauer C, Bonin M, Sanchez-Ferrero E, Schmitz-Hübsch T, Wüllner U, Nägele T, Riess O, Schöls L, Bauer P, J Med Genet. 2011 Jun;48(6):407-12. Epub 2011 Mar 1.
Identification of common variants influencing risk of the tauopathy progressive supranuclear palsy.
GU Höglinger, NM Melhem, DW Dickson, PM Sleiman, LS Wang, L Klei, R Rademakers, R de Silva, I Litvan, DE Riley, JC van Swieten, P Heutink, ZK Wszolek, RJ Uitti, J Vandrovcova, HI Hurtig, RG Gross, W Maetzler, S Goldwurm, E Tolosa, B Borroni, P Pastor; PSP Genetics Study Group, RL Albin, E Alonso, A Antonini, M Apfelbacher, SE Arnold, J Avila, TG Beach, S Beecher, D Berg, TD Bird, N Bogdanovic, AJ Boon, Y Bordelon, A Brice, H Budka, M Canesi, WZ Chiu, R Cilia, C Colosimo, PP De Deyn, JG de Yebenes, LD Kaat, R Duara, A Durr, S Engelborghs, G Fabbrini, NA Finch, R Flook, MP Frosch, C Gaig, DR Galasko, T Gasser, M Gearing, ET Geller, B Ghetti, NR Graff-Radford, M Grossman, DA Hall, LN Hazrati, M Höllerhage, J Jankovic, JL Juncos, A Karydas, HA Kretzschmar, I Leber, VM Lee, AP Lieberman, KE Lyons, C Mariani, E Masliah, LA Massey, CA McLean, N Meucci, BL Miller, B Mollenhauer, JC Möller, HR Morris, C Morris, SS O'Sullivan, WH Oertel, D Ottaviani, A Padovani, R Pahwa, G Pezzoli, S Pickering-Brown, W Poewe, A Rabano, A Rajput, SG Reich, G Respondek, S Roeber, JD Rohrer, OA Ross, MN Rossor, G Sacilotto, WW Seeley, K Seppi, L Silveira-Moriyama, S Spina, K Srulijes, P St George-Hyslop, M Stamelou, DG Standaert, S Tesei, WW Tourtellotte, C Trenkwalder, C Troakes, JQ Trojanowski, JC Troncoso, VM Van Deerlin, JP Vonsattel, GK Wenning, CL White, P Winter, C Zarow, AL Zecchinelli, LB Cantwell, MR Han, A Dillman, MP van der Brug, JR Gibbs, MR Cookson, DG Hernandez, AB Singleton, MJ Farrer, CE Yu, LI Golbe, T Revesz, J Hardy, AJ Lees, B Devlin, H Hakonarson, U Müller, GD Schellenberg; Nat Genet. 2011 Jun 19;43(7):699-705. doi: 10.1038/ng.859.
Milestones in PD genetics.
Gasser T, Hardy J, Mizuno Y, Mov Disord. 2011 May;26(6):1042-8. doi: 10.1002/mds.23637.
Parkin is transcriptionally regulated by ATF4: evidence for an interconnection between mitochondrial stress and ER stress.
L Bouman, A Schlierf, AK Lutz, J Shan, A Deinlein, J Kast, Z Galehdar, V Palmisano, N Patenge, D Berg, T Gasser, R Augustin, D Trümbach, I Irrcher, DS Park, W Wurst, MS Kilberg, J Tatzelt, KF Winklhofer; Cell Death Differ. 2011 May;18(5):769-82. Epub 2010 Nov 26.
Central oscillators in a patient with neuropathic tremor: Evidence from intraoperative local field potential recordings
Weiss D, Govindan RB, Rilk A, Wächter T, Breit S, Zizlsperger L, Haarmeier T, Plewnia C, Krüger R, Gharabaghi A., Mov Disord. 2011 Feb 1;26(2):323-7.
Relation of risk factors and putative premotor markers for Parkinson's disease.
Liepelt-Scarfone I, Behnke S, Godau J, Schweitzer KJ, Wolf B, Gaenslen A, Berg D, J Neural Transm. 2011 Apr;118(4):579-85. Epub 2011 Jan 6.
POLG, but not PEO1, is a frequent cause of cerebellar ataxia in Central Europe.
J. Schicks, M. Synofzik, C. Schulte, L. Schöls, Mov Disord. 2010 Nov 15;25(15):2678-82.
Microglia activation is related to substantia nigra echogenicity.
D. Berg, J. Godau, P. Riederer, M. Gerlach, T. Arzberger, J Neural Transm. 2010 Nov;117(11):1287-92. Epub 2010 Nov 6.
Complex hyperkinetic movement disorders associated with POLG mutations.
M. Synofzik, R. Schüle, C. Schulte, R. Krüger, T. Lindig, L. Schöls, F. Asmus, Mov Disord. 2010 Oct 30;25(14):2472-5.
A large genome scan for rare CNVs in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
HM Blauw, A Al-Chalabi, PM Andersen, PW van Vught, FP Diekstra, MA van Es, CG Saris, EJ Groen, W van Rheenen, M Koppers, Rv Slot, E Strengman, K Estrada, F Rivadeneira, A Hofman, AG Uitterlinden, LA Kiemeney, SH Vermeulen, A Birve, S Waibel, T Meyer, S Cronin, RL McLaughlin, O hardiman, PC Sapp, MD Tobin, LV Wain, B Tomik, A Slowik, R Lemmens, D Rujescu, C Schulte, T Gasser, RH Brown Jr., JE Landers, W Robberecht, AC Ludolph, RA Ophoff, JH Veldink, LH van den Berg; Hum Mol Genet. 2010 Oct 15; Epub 2010 Aug 4.
Improvement of balance after audio-biofeedback. A 6-week intervention study in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.
S. Nicolai, A. Mirelman, T. Herman, A. Zijlstra, M. Mancini, C. Becker, U. Lindemann, D. Berg, W. Maetzler, Z Gerontol Geriatr. 2010 Aug;43(4):224-8
Place value of transcranial sonography in early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
D. Berg, A. Gaenslen, Neurodegener Dis. 2010;7(5):291-9. Epub 2010 Jul 9.
Polymorphisms in TGFB1 and PDGFRB are associated with Moyamoya disease in European patients.
Roder C, Peters V, Kasuya H, Nishizawa T, Takehara Y, Berg D, Schulte C, Khan N, Tatagiba M, Krischek B., Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2010 Dec;152(12):2153-60. Epub 2010 Jun 23.
Involuntary eyelid closure after STN-DBS: evidence for different pathophysiological entities.
D. Weiss, T. Wächter, S. Breit, SN Jacob, JK Pomper, F. Asmus, J. Valls-Solé, C. Plewnia, T. Gasser, A. Gharabaghi, R. Krüger, J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2010 Sep;81(9):1002-7. Epub 2010 Jun 20.
Progressive secondary neurodegeneration and microcalcification co-occur in osteopontin-deficient mice.
W. Maetzler, D. Berg, C. Funke, F. Sandmann, H. Stünitz, C. Maetzler, C. Nitsch, Am J Pathol. 2010 Aug;177(2):829-39. Epub 2010 Jun 3.
Severe orthostatic dysregulation associated with Wolfram syndrome.
M. Synofzik, D. Weiss, J. Erharhaghen, R. Krüger, L. Schöls, J Neurol. 2010 Oct;257(10):1751-3. Epub 2010 May 19.
A total of 220 patients with autosomal dominant spastic paraplegia do not display mutations in the SLC33A1 gene (SPG42).
NA Schlipf, C. Beetz, R. Schüle, G. Stevanin, AK Erichsen, S. Forlani, C. Zaros, K. Karle, S. Klebe, S. Klimpe, A. Durr, S. Otto, CM Tallaksen, O. Riess, A. Brice, P. Bauer, L. Schöls, Eur J Hum Genet. 2010 Sep;18(9):1065-7. Epub 2010 May 12.
Expression profiling in peripheral blood reveals signature for penetrance in DYT1 dystonia.
M Walter, M Bonin, RS Pullman, EM Valente, M Loi, M Gambarin, D Raymond, M Tinazzi, C Kamm, N Glöckle, S Poths, T Gasser, SB Bressman, C Klein, LJ Ozelius, O Riess, K Grundmann; Neurobiol Dis. 2010 May, Epub 2010 Jan 4.
Neprilysin activity in cerebrospinal fluid is associated with dementia and amyloid-β42 levels in Lewy body disease.
W Maetzler, V Stoycheva, B Schmid, C Schulte, AK Hauser, K Brockmann, A Melms, T Gasser, D Berg; J Alzheimers Dis. 2010 Jan 1;22(3):933-8.
Identifying PD-causing genes and genetic susceptibility factors: Current approaches and future prospects.
T Gasser; Prog Brain Res. 2010
Prevention of interferon-stimulated gene expression using microRNA-designed hairpins.
Bauer M, Kinkl N, Meixner A, Kremmer E, Riemenschneider M, Förstl H, Gasser T, Ueffing M. (2009), Gene Ther. 2009 Jan;16(1):142-7.
Riluzole treatment, survival and diagnostic criteria in Parkinson plus disorders: the NNIPPS study.
Bensimon G, Ludolph A, Agid Y, Vidailhet M, Payan C, Leigh PN; NNIPPS Study Group. (2009), Brain. 2009 Jan;132(Pt 1):156-71.
Effective thalamic deep brain stimulation for neuropathic tremor in a patient with severe demyelinating neuropathy.
Breit S, Wächter T, Schöls S, Gasser T, Nägele T, Freudenstein D, Krüger R. (2009), J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 80: 235-36.
Identification of novel Angiogenin (ANG) gene missense variants in German patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Fernández-Santiago R, Hoenig S, Lichtner P, Sperfeld AD, Sharma M, Berg D, Weichenrieder O, Illig T, Eger K, Meyer T, Anneser J, Münch C, Zierz S, Gasser T, Ludolph A. (2009), J Neurol. 2009 Aug;256(8):1337-42.
The transcription factor PITX3 is associated with sporadic Parkinson's disease.
Fuchs J, Mueller JC, Lichtner P, Schulte C, Munz M, Berg D, Wüllner U, Illig T, Sharma M, Gasser T. (2009), Neurobiol Aging. 2009 May;30(5):731-8.
Genetic factors influencing age at onset in LRRK2-linked Parkinson disease.
Golub Y, Berg D, Calne DB, Pfeiffer RF, Uitti RJ, Stoessl AJ, Wszolek ZK, Farrer MJ, Mueller JC, Gasser T, Fuchs J. (2009), Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2009 Aug;15(7):539-41.
Lithium trial in Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter 10-week study.
Hampel H, Ewers M, Bürger K, Annas P, Mörtberg A, Bogstedt A, Frölich L, Schröder J, Schönknecht P, Riepe MW, Kraft I, Gasser T, Leyhe T, Möller HJ, Kurz A, Basun H. (2009), J Clin Psychiatry. 2009 Jun;70(6):922-31.
DJ-1 and prevention of oxidative stress in Parkinson's disease and other age-related disorders.
Kahle PJ, Waak J, Gasser T. (2009), Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 Aug 14.
Homo- and heterodimerization of ROCO kinases: LRRK2 kinase inhibition by the LRRK2 ROCO fragment.
Klein CL, Rovelli G, Springer W, Schall C, Gasser T, Kahle PJ. (2009), J Neurochem. 2009 Aug 27.
Increase of BDNF serum concentration in lithium treated patients with early Alzheimer's disease.
Leyhe T, Eschweiler GW, Stransky E, Gasser T, Annas P, Basun H, Laske C. (2009), J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Mar;16(3):649-56.
Screening for LRRK2 R1441 mutations in a cohort of PSP patients from Germany.
Madžar D, Schulte C, Gasser T. (2009), Eur J Neurol. 2009 Jun 15.
No differences of butyrylcholinesterase protein activity and allele frequency in Lewy body diseases.
Maetzler W, Keller S, Michelis J, Koehler N, Stransky E, Becker C, Schulte C, Melms A, Gasser T, Berg D. (2009), Neurobiol Dis. 2009 Aug;35(2):296-301.
A single-nucleotide polymorphism of the osteopontin gene may contribute to a susceptibility to Lewy body disease.
Maetzler W, Michelis J, Tomiuk J, Melms A, Becker C, Gasser T, Schulte C, Berg D. (2009), J Neural Transm. 2009 May;116(5):599-605.
Cortical PIB binding in Lewy body disease is associated with Alzheimer-like characteristics.
Maetzler W, Liepelt I, Reimold M, Reischl G, Solbach C, Becker C, Schulte C, Leyhe T, Keller S, Melms A, Gasser T, Berg D. (2009), Neurobiol Dis. 2009 Apr;34(1):107-12.
A double-blind, delayed-start trial of rasagiline in Parkinson's disease.
Olanow CW, Rascol O, Hauser R, Feigin PD, Jankovic J, Lang A, Langston W, Melamed E, Poewe W, Stocchi F, Tolosa E; ADAGIO Study Investigators. (2009), N Engl J Med. 2009 Sep 24;361(13):1268-78.
Kick and rush: paradoxical kinesia in Parkinson disease.
Robottom BJ, Weiner WJ, Asmus F, Huber H, Gasser T, Schöls S. (2009), Neurology. 2009 Jul 28;73(4):328; author reply 328-9.
Parkin protects mitochondrial genome integrity and supports mitochondrial DNA repair.
Rothfuss O, Fischer H, Hasegawa T, Maisel M, Leitner P, Miesel F, Sharma M, Bornemann A, Berg D, Gasser T, Patenge N. (2009), Hum Mol Genet. 2009 Oct 15;18(20):3832-50.
SNCA variants are associated with increased risk for multiple system atrophy.
Scholz SW, Houlden H, Schulte C, Sharma M, Li A, Berg D, Melchers A, Paudel R, Gibbs JR, Simon-Sanchez J, Paisan-Ruiz C, Bras J, Ding J, Chen H, Traynor BJ, Arepalli S, Zonozi RR, Revesz T, Holton J, Wood N, Lees A, Oertel W, Wüllner U, Goldwurm S, Pellecchia MT, Illig T, Riess O, Fernandez HH, Rodriguez RL, Okun MS, Poewe W, Wenning GK, Hardy JA, Singleton AB, Gasser T. (2009), Ann Neurol. 2009 May;65(5):610-4.
Ataxia with ophthalmoplegia or sensory neuropathy is frequently caused by POLG mutations.
Schulte C, Synofzik M, Gasser T, Schöls S. (2009), Neurology. 2009 Sep 15;73(11):898-900.
Further delineation of the association signal on chromosome 5 from the first whole genome association study in Parkinson's disease.
Sharma M, Lichtner P, Krüger R, Berg D, Schulte C, Illig T, Riess O, Gasser T. (2009), Neurobiol Aging 30: 1706-9.
International multi-center analysis of glucocerebrosidase mutations in Parkinson disease.
Sidransky E, Aasly JO, Aharon-Peretz J, Annesi G, Barbosa ER, Bar-Shira A, Berg D, Bras J, Brice A, Chen C-M, Clark LN, Condroyer C, de Marco EV, Dürr A, Eblan MJ, Fahn S, Farrer M, Fung H-C, Gan-Or Z, Gasser T, Gershoni-Baruch R, Giladi N, Griffith A, Gurevich T, Januario C, Kropp P, Lang AE, Lee-Chen G-J, Lesage S, Marder K, Mata IF, Mirelman A, Mitsui J, Mizuta I, Nalls MA, Nicoletti G, Oliveira C, Ottman R , Orr-Urtreger A, Pereira LV, Quattrone A, Rogaeva E, Rolfs A, Rosenbaum H, Rozenberg R, Samii A, Samaddar T, Schulte C, Sharma M, Singleton S, Spitz M, TanE-K, Tayebi N, Toda T, Troiano A, Tsuji S, Wittstock M, Wolfsberg TG, Wu Y-R, Zabetian CP, Zhao Y, Ziegler SG (2009), New Engl J Med.
Genome-wide association study reveals genetic risk underlying Parkinson’s disease.
Simon-Sanchez J, Schulte C, Bras CM, Sharma M, Gibbs R, Berg D, Paison-Ruiz C, Lichtner P, Scholz SW, Hernandez DG, Krüger R, Fedoroff M, Klein C, Goate A, Perlmutter J, Bonin M, Nalls MA, Illig T, Gieger C, Houlden H, Steffens M, Okun MS, Foote KD, Fernandez HH, Schreiber S, Arepalli S, Zonozi R, Gwinn K, Lopez G, Chanock SJ, Schatzkin A, Park Y, Hollenbeck A, Gao J, Huang X, Wood NW, Lorenz D, Deuschl G, Chen H, Riess O, Hardy JA, Singleton AB, Gasser T. (2009), Nat Genet.