Structural Neurobiology, Interactions, and Protein Engineering of Receptors
Welcome to Team SNIPER
At Team SNIPER, we explore the frontiers of structural neurobiology to uncover how neuronal signaling works in both health and disease. Our research sits at the crossroads of protein engineering, protein design, molecular neuroscience, and structural biology, with a strong focus on synaptic receptor complexes central to brain function and dysfunction.
We employ an integrated toolkit—including mammalian protein expression, biochemical and biophysical analysis, X-ray crystallography, and cryo-electron microscopy—to investigate the molecular architecture and interaction principles of synaptic proteins implicated in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Through antibody and nanobody discovery, as well as protein engineering and design, we create tailored molecular tools to probe, stabilize, and modulate synaptic receptor complexes. These tools support high-resolution structural studies and enable new strategies for therapeutic targeting.
Techniques
- Mammalian protein expression
- Protein purification and characterization
- X-ray crystallography
- Cryo-electron microscopy
- Biophysical interaction assays
- Yeast display
- Computational protein design
- Site-directed mutagenesis and molecular cloning
Keywords
Structural neurobiology ; Synaptic receptors ; Protein engineering ; Protein design ; Antibody and nanobody discovery ; Cryo-electron microscopy ; X-ray crystallography ; Molecular neuroscience
Mots clés
Antibody and nanobody discovery, Cryo-electron microscopy, Molecular neuroscience, Protein design, Protein engineering, Structural neurobiology, Synaptic receptors, X-ray crystallographySelected publications
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High-Level Production of Recombinant Eukaryotic Proteins from Mammalian Cells Using Lentivirus.
Ester Behiels, Jonathan Elegheert.
Methods in Molecular Biology. 2021-01-01. : 83-104.
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1406-8_4 -
A synthetic synaptic organizer protein restores glutamatergic neuronal circuits.
Suzuki K, Elegheert J, Song I, Sasakura H, Senkov O, Matsuda K, Kakegawa W, Clayton AJ, Chang VT, Ferrer-Ferrer M, Miura E, Kaushik R, Ikeno M, Morioka Y, Takeuchi Y, Shimada T, Otsuka S, Stoyanov S, Watanabe M, Takeuchi K, Dityatev A, Aricescu AR, Yuzaki M.
Science. . 369 (6507) : 1052-1053.
DOI: 10.1126/science.abb4853 -
Pumping the brakes: suppression of synapse development by MDGA-neuroligin interactions.
Steven A Connor, Jonathan Elegheert, Yicheng Xie, Ann Marie Craig.
Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 2019-08-01. 57 : 71-80.
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.01.002 -
Lentiviral transduction of mammalian cells for fast, scalable and high-level production of soluble and membrane proteins
Jonathan Elegheert, Ester Behiels, Benjamin Bishop, Suzanne Scott, Rachel E. Woolley, Samuel C. Griffiths, Eamon F. X. Byrne, Veronica T. Chang, David I. Stuart, E. Yvonne Jones, Christian Siebold, A. Radu Aricescu.
Nat Protoc. 2018-11-19. 13 (12) : 2991-3017.
DOI: 10.1038/s41596-018-0075-9 -
Structural Mechanism for Modulation of Synaptic Neuroligin-Neurexin Signaling by MDGA Proteins.
Jonathan Elegheert, Vedrana Cvetkovska, Amber J. Clayton, Christina Heroven, Kristel M. Vennekens, Samuel N. Smukowski, Michael C. Regan, Wanyi Jia, Alexandra C. Smith, Hiro Furukawa, Jeffrey N. Savas, Joris de Wit, Jo Begbie, Ann Marie Craig, A. Radu Aricescu.
Neuron. 2017-09-01. 96 (1) : 242-244.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.07.040 -
Structural basis for integration of GluD receptors within synaptic organizer complexes.
Jonathan Elegheert, Wataru Kakegawa, Jordan E. Clay, Natalie F. Shanks, Ester Behiels, Keiko Matsuda, Kazuhisa Kohda, Eriko Miura, Maxim Rossmann, Nikolaos Mitakidis, Junko Motohashi, Veronica T. Chang, Christian Siebold, Ingo H. Greger, Terunaga Nakagawa, Michisuke Yuzaki, A. Radu Aricescu.
Science. 2016-07-14. 353 (6296) : 295-299.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aae0104 -
Repulsive guidance molecule is a structural bridge between neogenin and bone morphogenetic protein.
Eleanor G Healey, Benjamin Bishop, Jonathan Elegheert, Christian H Bell, Sergi Padilla-Parra, Christian Siebold.
Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2015-05-04. 22 (6) : 458-465.
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.3016 -
Structural basis for extracellular cis and trans RPTPσ signal competition in synaptogenesis
Charlotte H. Coles, Nikolaos Mitakidis, Peng Zhang, Jonathan Elegheert, Weixian Lu, Andrew W. Stoker, Terunaga Nakagawa, Ann Marie Craig, E. Yvonne Jones, A. Radu Aricescu.
Nat Commun. 2014-11-11. 5 (1)
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6209
Team member(s)
Chercheurs, Praticiens hospitaliers...
Ingénieur(e)s, technicien(ne)s
Eva Grolier Grolier
Adrien Doridant Doridant
Blandine Gendron Gendron
Eléa Cahuet Cahuet
Post-doctorant(s)
Doctorant(s)
Neuropsychologist(s) and speech therapist(s)
Ingénieur(s) hospitalier(s) et ARC