Arto Pulliainen
principal investigator, PhD
bacteriology; cell biology; bacterial toxins; protein chemistry; drug development
Principal investigator (2015-, University of Turku, Turku, Finland)
Docent / Adjunct professor (2012-, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)
Post doc (2006-2014, University of Turku, Turku, Finland and Biozentrum, Basel, Switzerland)
PhD (2006, University of Turku, Turku, Finland)
Doctoral student (2001-2006, University of Turku, Turku, Finland)
MSc (2001, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland)
Turku Cellular Microbiology Laboratory (TCML) studies the interaction of bacterial pathogens with their host cells at molecular level. Our research is focused on proteins, in particular on enzymes, of the bacterial pathogen and of the host cell that are key molecular players shaping the development and severity of an infectious disease. Our goal is to gain detailed molecular knowledge of the protein functions allowing development of targeted pharmaceuticals to prevent and treat infectious diseases.
Funding sources:
Academy of Finland, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Turku University Foundation, Turku Doctoral Programme of Molecular Medicine (TuDMM), Erasmus+
bacteriology; cell biology; protein chemistry; molecular biology
- Identification of a novel streptococcal adhesin P (SadP) protein recognizing galactosyl-α1-4-galactose-containing glycoconjugates: convergent evolution of bacterial pathogens to binding of the same host receptor (2011) Kouki A, Haataja S, Loimaranta V, Pulliainen AT, Nilsson UJ, Finne J
- Bartonella henselae: Subversion of vascular endothelial cell functions by translocated bacterial effector proteins (2009)
- International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
- Leucine-rich Repeats of Bacterial Surface Proteins Serve as Common Pattern Recognition Motifs of Human Scavenger Receptor gp340 (2009)
- Journal of Biological Chemistry
- Deficiency of the Rgg regulator promotes H2O2 resistance, AhpCF-mediated H2O2 decomposition, and virulence in Streptococcus pyogenesStructural basis of the zinc- and terbium-mediated inhibition of ferroxidase activity in Dps ferritin-like proteins (2008)
- Journal of Bacteriology
- (2008)
- Protein Science
- A course with a difference - Fighting infectious diseases with technology and knowledge-transfer (2007)
- EMBO Reports
- Iron incorporation in Streptococcus suis Dps-like peroxide resistance protein Dpr requires mobility in the ferroxidase center and leads to the formation of a ferrihydrite-like core (2006)
- Journal of Molecular Biology
- Dps/Dpr ferritin-like protein: insights into the mechanism of iron incorporation and evidence for a central role in cellular iron homeostasis in Streptococcus suis (2005)
- Molecular MicrobiologyJournal of Molecular Biology
- Generation of transposon insertion mutant libraries for Gram-positive bacteria by electroporation of phage Mu DNA transposition complexes (2005)
- Microbiology
- Crystal structure of Streptococcus suis Dps-like peroxide resistance protein Dpr: implications for iron incorporation (2004)



