Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen
PhD
eeva-liisa.eskelinen@utu.fi +358 29 450 3996 +358 50 511 5631 Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku Office: C341 Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku, Finland Medisiina C341 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0006-7785 |
Cell biology, autophagy, lysosomes, RAB24, electron microscopy, cell imaging
Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen has a long track record in autophagy field, in particular, in elucidating the fine structure and membrane dynamics of autophagosome biogenesis using electron microscopy. She completed her PhD in 1993 at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. After that, she worked as postdoctoral researcher in Göttingen, Germany and Helsinki, Finland. Then she moved to Dundee, Scotland, where she worked as an independent investigator (1999-2002). From Scotland she moved to Kiel, Germany and worked as a group leader at the department headed by professor Paul Saftig (2002-2005). In August 2005 she moved back to Finland and worked as a University Lecturer at the Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, until 2017. 1st of November 2017 she started as a Professor of medical cell biology at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Finland.
The small GTPase RAB24
We study the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of RAB24, a GTPase that we showed to function in the late phase of the macroautophagic pathway. Mutation in RAB24 causes hereditary ataxia in dogs. In addition, RAB24 was shown to be overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the overexpression was further shown to facilitate the malignant phenotype of the cancer cells. RAB24 is also overexpressed in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We use cell and molecular biological and biochemical approaches in order to clarify the biological functions of RAB24, as well as the molecular mechanisms that mediate these functions.
Membrane dynamics in autophagy
Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation pathway for cytoplasmic material and organelles that maintains cellular homeostasis during nutrient deprivation and stress. Autophagy also contributes to the clearance of damaged organelles and aggregate-prone proteins, protection against metabolic stress and DNA damage, and even to longevity of the organism. Defective autophagy has been connected to many human diseases including cancer, myopathies, metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.
We and others showed that autophagosomes form in a subcompartment of the endoplasmic reticulum. A flat membrane cistern called the phagophore emerges first, which then elongates and forms a double-membrane bound autophagosome. Autophagosomes acquire hydrolytic capacity by fusing with endosomes and lysosomes. The origin of autophagosome membranes is one of the longest lasting open questions in the field. We have addressed this question using three-dimensional electron microscopy, live-cell imaging and correlative light-electron microscopy.
Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen is the responsible teacher of the course Cell Biology and Histology, aimed for first year students in medicine, dentistry and biomedicine. She is also teaching electron microscopy methods on the course Electron Microscopy in Biomedical Sciences, aimed for MSc students on Biomedical Imaging, and for PhD students interested in the topic.
- Calpain as a novel regulator of autophagosome formation (2007)
- Autophagy
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - LAMP proteins are required for fusion of lysosomes with phagosomes (2007)
- EMBO Journal
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Prostatic acid phosphatase is not a prostate specific target (2007)
- Cancer Research
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Calpain is required for macroautophagy in mammalian cells (2006)
- Journal of Cell Biology
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Deafness in LIMP2-deficient mice due to early loss of the potassium channel KCNQ1/KCNE1 in marginal cells of the stria vascularis (2006)
- Journal of Physiology
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - The role of lysosomal membrane proteins in (auto)phagocytosis and intracellular cholesterol traffic (2006)
- Autophagy
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde: autophagy can promote both cell survival and cell death (2005)
- Cell Death and Differentiation
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Mannose 6-phosphate receptors, Niemann-Pick C2 protein, and lysosomal cholesterol accumulation (2005)
- Journal of Lipid Research
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Maturation of autophagic vacuoles in mammalian cells (2005)
- Autophagy
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - The apoptosis/autophagy paradox: autophagic vacuolization before apoptotic death (2005)
- Journal of Cell Science
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Trs85 (Gsg1), a component of the TRAPP complexes, is required for the organization of the preautophagosomal structure during selective autophagy via the Cvt pathway (2005) Meiling-Wesse K, Epple UD, Krick R, Barth H, Appelles A, Voss C, Eskelinen EL, Thumm M
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Unifying nomenclature for the isoforms of the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP-2 (2005)
- Traffic
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Atg21 is required for effective recruitment of Atg8 to the preautophagosomal structure during the Cvt pathway (2004) Meiling-Wesse K, Barth H, Voss C, Eskelinen EL, Epple UD, Thumm M
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Disturbed cholesterol traffic but normal proteolytic function in LAMP-1/LAMP-2 double-deficient fibroblasts (2004)
- Molecular Biology of the Cell
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Role for Rab7 in maturation of late autophagic vacuoles (2004)
- Journal of Cell Science
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - At the acidic edge: emerging functions for lysosomal membrane proteins (2003)
- Trends in Cell Biology
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Autophagy and intravacuolar membrane lysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (2003)
- Yeast
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Autophagy genes are essential for dauer development and life-span extension in C-elegans (2003)
- Science
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Deletion of the SNARE vti1b in mice results in the loss of a single SNARE partner, syntaxin 8 (2003)
- Molecular and Cellular Biology
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1)) - Intravacuolar membrane lysis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae - Does vacuolar targeting of Cvt17/Aut5p affect its function? (2003) Epple UD, Eskelinen EL, Thumm M
(Refereed journal article or data article (A1))