Misgeld Lab

Welcome to the Misgeld lab! We are part of the Institute of Neuronal Cell Biology at the School of Medicine of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and are affiliated with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Excellence Cluster SyNergy. We study axon changes in the healthy and in the sick nervous system of living animals. Axons are the long neuronal processes that form synapses and thus interconnect different parts of the nervous system. Obviously, to properly establish wiring in the brain, myriads of axons have to find their targets, or otherwise, axons that connect incorrectly need to be removed. We are interested in the latter process – not only because such axon dismantling contributes fundamentally to brain development and to the adaptation of our neural circuits to the environment, but also because axons are highly susceptible to pathology. Many common neurological diseases are characterized by early loss of axonal connections – including motor neuron disease, spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis, all of which we study. By better understanding axon dismantling in development and disease we hope to gain insight into what causes axons to disintegrate under pathological conditions. Our investigations addressing the questions raised above motivate studies into the role of neuro-glial interactions that maintain and dismantle axons, into the principles of axonal transport and of organelle turnover, especially of mitochondria, and of the role that the axonal cytoskeleton plays in giving axons shape and ensuring organelle supply. To address these questions, we use in vivo imaging approaches in zebrafish and mice. For further write-ups on our group, please check following links: