Groupleader: Fabio Lolicato

Our Lab delves into the intricacies of the dynamic interplay between proteins and lipids within cellular membranes. Our multidisciplinary approach combines state-of-the-art computer simulations with in vitro reconstitution experiments to uncover the mysteries that govern these complex systems.


Probing the Role of Lipids in Cellular Membranes

A fundamental question that drives our investigations is the presence of numerous lipid types in cellular membranes, even when a single lipid type can form a stable membrane. We are intrigued by the possibility that proteins may possess a distinctive lipid signature, prompting us to explore the consequences of engineering the lipid environment surrounding these proteins.
 

	Pore-Forming Proteins: BAX/BOK, GSDM, and FGF2 Our current focal point involves unraveling the physical-chemical properties of pore-forming proteins, with particular emphasis on BAX/BOK, GSDM, and FGF2. We aim to expand our understanding of their complex characteristics and functional roles within cellular membranes.
	Virology: Influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, and Ebola Viruses We utilize cutting-edge computer simulations to investigate the mechanics of virus entry, self-assembly, and cellular manipulation. Our emphasis is deciphering the complex transitions of viruses, particularly Influenza A, SARS-CoV-2, and Ebola, as they navigate the complex landscape of host adaptation. For more insights, refer to our recent press release: Luring the Virus into a Trap.
	Lipid Binding and Transfer Proteins Our research extends to understanding how certain proteins bind to specific lipids within the cell membrane selectively. Furthermore, we explore the dynamics of lipid transfer proteins, unraveling how proteins take and release lipids from cell membranes and how the composition of membrane lipids influences these interactions.
	Computational Structural Biology By employing advanced techniques such as docking, modeling, and molecular dynamics simulations, We refine Cryo-EM/ET, NMR, crystallography, and AlphaFold structures to understand intricate 3D biomolecular architectures and their interaction with membranes.

For more details, please visit the lab homepage: https://fabiololicato.com

Second row, from left to right:
Laura Scheller (Master Student), Zynep Kilcan (Master Student), Ana Marija Knez (PhD Student), Dr. Melanie König (Postdoc), Cameron Smith (Bachelor Student), Fabio Lolicato (PI)

First row, from left to right:
Manpreet Kaur (PhD Student), Anke Heymann (Administrative Assistant), Ali Lashkari (PhD Student), Andrei Mironenko (Postdoc), Irene Reina (PhD Student), Jonathan Thelen (Bachelor Student)

Postdocs:
Dr. Melanie König
Dr. Andrei Mironenko

PhD Students:
Irene Reina
Suvi Selliah
Manpreet Kaur
Ana Marija Knez
Ali Lashkari

Bachelor and Master Students:
Zynep Kilcan
Jonathan Thelen
Cameron Smith
Bangka Li

Alumni:
Laura Scheller






















 

Patents
(1)     Patent PCT/EP2022/083143: Martin-Villalba A, Brügger B, Vattulainen I, Lolicato F, Gülcüler Balta G (2021, granted 2023) "CD95 Polypeptides"; WO2023/094527 (Pending) 
 

Complete list of publications:

(1)        Lolicato F#, Kaur M, Knez A M, Saleppico R, Nickel W. (2025) Does Plasma Membrane Transbilayer Asymmetry Coupled to Lipid Nanodomains Drive Fast Kinetics of FGF2 Membrane Translocation into the Extracellular Space? Faraday Discussions
 
(2)        Lolicato F#, Steringer JP, Saleppico R, Beyer D, Fernandez-Sobaberas J, Unger S, Klein S, Riegerová P, Wegehingel S, Müller HM, Freund C, Hof, M, Šachl R, ChlandaP, Vattulainen I, and Nickel W (2024) Disulfide bridge-dependent dimerization triggers FGF2 membrane translocation into the extracellular space. eLife
 
(3)        Lolicato F#, Nickel W, Haucke V, Ebner M (2024) Phosphoinositide switches in cell physiology-from molecular mechanisms to disease. J. Biol. Chem.
 
(4)        Kádková A, Murach J, Østergaard M, Malsam A, Malsam J, Lolicato F, Nickel W, Söllner T H, Sørensen J B. (2024) SNAP25 disease mutations change the energy landscape for synaptic exocytosis due to aberrant SNARE interactions. eLife
 
(5)        Kiirikki A M, Antila H S, Bort L S, Buslaev P, Favela-Rosales F, Ferreira T M, Fuchs P F, GarciaFandino R, Gushchin I, Kav B, Kučerka N, Kula P, Kurki M, Kuzmin A, Lalitha A, Lolicato F, Madsen J J, Miettinen M S, Mingham C, Monticelli L, Nencini R, Nesterenko A M, Piggot T J, Piñeiro Á, Reuter N, Samantray S, Suárez-Lestón F, Talandashti R, Ollila O S. (2024) Overlay databank unlocks datadriven analyses of biomolecules for all. Nat. Commun.
 
(6)        Griffo A, Sparn C, Lolicato F, Nolle F, Khangholi N,  Seemann R,  Fleury JB,  Brinkmann M,  Nickel W,  Hähl H. (2024) Mechanics of biomimetic free-standing lipid membranes: Insights on lipid chemistry and bilayer elasticity.RSC advances.  
                                                        
(7)        Singh V, Macharová S,Riegerová P, Steringer J P, Müller H-M, Lolicato F, Nickel W, Hof M, and Šachl R (2023) Determining the Functional Oligomeric State of Membrane-Associated Protein Oligomers Forming Membrane Pores on Giant Lipid Vesicles. Anal. Chem.
 
(8)        Klein S, Golani G, Lolicato F*, Beyer D, Herrmann A, Wachsmuth-Melm M, Reddmann N, Brecht R, Lahr C, Hosseinzadeh M, Kolovou A, Schorb M, Schwab Y, Brügger B, Nickel W, Schwarz U S, Chlanda P (2023) IFITM3 blocks viral entry by sorting lipids and stabilizing hemifusion. Cell Host&Microbe
 
(9)        Winter S. L, Golani G, Lolicato F, Vallbracht M, Thiyagarajah K, Ahmed S S, Lüchtenborg C, Fackler O T, Brügger B, Hoenen T, Nickel W, Schwarz U S, Chlanda P. (2023) The Ebola Virus VP40 Matrix Undergoes Endosomal Disassembly Essential for Membrane Fusion, EMBO J.
 
(10)    Kupke T, Götz R M, Richter F M, Beck R, Lolicato F, Nickel W, Hopf C and Brügger B. (2023) In vivo characterization of the bacterial intramembrane-cleaving protease RseP using the heme binding tag-based assay iCliPSpy. Commun. Biol.
 
(11)    Lolicato F#, Saleppico R, Griffo A, Meyer A, Scollo F, Pokrandt B, Müller HM, Ewers H, Hähl H, Fleury JB, Seemann R, Hof M, Brügger B, Jacobs K, Vattulainen I, Nickel W (2022) Cholesterol promotes clustering of PI(4,5)P2 driving unconventional secretion of FGF2. J. Cell. Biol.  
 
(12)    Korolainen H, Lolicato F, Enkavi G, Pérez-Gil J, Kulig W, Vattulainen I. (2022) Dimerization of the Pulmonary Surfactant Protein C in a Membrane Environment. PLoS One. 
 
(13)    Lolicato F#, Nickel W. (2022) A Role for Liquid-Ordered Plasma Membrane Nanodomains Coordinating the Unconventional Secretory Pathway of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2? Front. Cell Dev. Biol.  
 
(14)    Tempra C, Scollo F, Pannuzzo M, Lolicato F#, La Rosa C. A (2022) Unifying Framework for AmyloidMediated Membrane Damage: The Lipid-Chaperone Hypothesis. BBA-Proteins Proteom.  
 
(15)    Tempra C, La Rosa C, Lolicato F. (2021) The Role of Alpha-Helix on the Structure-Targeting Drug Design of Amyloidogenic Proteins. Chem. Phys. Lipids.  
 
(16)    Sciacca M F, Lolicato F*, Tempra C, Scollo F, Sahoo B R, Watson M D, García-Viñuales, S, Milardi D, Raudino A, Lee, J. C, Ramamoorthy A, La Rosa C. (2020) Lipid-Chaperone Hypothesis: A Common Molecular Mechanism of Membrane Disruption by Intrinsically Disordered Proteins. ACS Chem. Neurosci.
 
(17)    Legrand C, Saleppico R, Sticht, J, Lolicato F, Müller H-M, Wegehingel S, Dimou E, Steringer J P, Ewers H, Vattulainen I, Freund C, Nickel W. (2020) The Na,K-ATPase Acts Upstream of Phosphoinositide PI(4,5)P2Facilitating Unconventional Secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2. Commun. Biol.  
 
(18)    Lucendo E, Sancho M, Lolicato F, Javanainen M, Kulig W, Leiva D, Duart G, Andreu-Fernández V, Mingarro I, Orzáez M. (2020) Mcl-1 and Bok Transmembrane Domains: Unexpected Players in the Modulation of Apoptosis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.
 
(19)    Kurth M, Lolicato F, Sandoval-Perez A, Amaya-Espinosa H, Teslenko A, Sinning I, Beck R, Brügger B, Aponte-Santamaría C. (2020) Cholesterol Localization around the Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 2. J. Phys. Chem. B. 
 
(20)    Romanucci V, García-Viñuales S, Tempra C, Bernini R, Zarrelli A, Lolicato F #, Milardi D, Di Fabio G. (2020) Modulating Aβ Aggregation by Tyrosol-Based Ligands: The Crucial Role of the Catechol Moiety. Biophys. Chem.  
              
(21)    Lolicato F, Juhola H, Zak A, Postila P. A, Saukko A, Rissanen S, Enkavi G, Vattulainen I, Kepczynski M, Róg T. (2020) Membrane-Dependent Binding and Entry Mechanism of Dopamine into Its Receptor. ACS Chem. Neurosci.  
 
(22)    La Rosa C, Condorelli M, Compagnini G, Lolicato F, Milardi D, Do T N, Karttunen M, Pannuzzo M, Ramamoorthy A, Fraternali F, Collu F, Rezaei H, Strodel B, Raudino A. (2020) Symmetry-Breaking Transitions in the Early Steps of Protein Self-Assembly. Eur. Biophys. J.   
 
(23)    Lolicato F, Joly L, Martinez-Seara H, Fragneto G, Scoppola E, Baldelli Bombelli F, Vattulainen I, Akola J, Maccarini M. (2019) The Role of Temperature and Lipid Charge on Intake/Uptake of Cationic Gold Nanoparticles into Lipid Bilayers. Small.  
 
(24)    Gurtovenko A A, Javanainen M, Lolicato F, Vattulainen I. (2019) The Devil Is in the Details: What Do We Really Track in Single-Particle Tracking Experiments of Diffusion in Biological Membranes? J. Phys. Chem. Lett.  
 
(25)    Scollo F, Tempra C, Lolicato F, Sciacca M F. M, Raudino A, Milardi D, La Rosa C. (2018) Phospholipids Critical Micellar Concentrations Trigger Different Mechanisms of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Interaction with Model Membranes. J. Phys. Chem. Lett.
 
(26)    Juhola H, Postila P. A, Rissanen S, Lolicato F, Vattulainen I, Róg T. (2018) Negatively Charged Gangliosides Promote Membrane Association of Amphipathic Neurotransmitters. Neurosci.
 
(27)    D’Urso L, Condorelli M, Puglisi O, Tempra C, Lolicato F, Compagnini G, La Rosa C. (2018) Detection and Characterization at NM Concentration of Oligomers Formed by HIAPP, Aβ(1–40) and Their Equimolar Mixture Using SERS and MD Simulations. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.  
 
(28)    Danne R, Poojari C, Martinez-Seara H, Rissanen S, Lolicato F, Róg T, Vattulainen I. (2017) DoGlycans –Tools for Preparing Carbohydrate Structures for Atomistic Simulations of Glycoproteins, Glycolipids, and Carbohydrate Polymers for GROMACS. J. Chem. Inf. Model.
 
(29)    Sciacca, Michele. F. M, Romanucci V, Zarrelli A, Monaco I, Lolicato F, Spinella N, Galati C, Grasso G, D’Urso L, Romeo M, Diomede L, Salmona M, Bongiorno C, Di Fabio G, La Rosa C, Milardi D. (2017) Inhibition of Aβ Amyloid Growth and Toxicity by Silybins: The Crucial Role of Stereochemistry. ACS Chem. Neurosci.  
 
(30)    Steringer J P, Lange S, Čujová S, Šachl R, Poojari C, Lolicato F, Beutel O, Müller H-M, Unger S, Coskun Ü, Honigmann A, Vattulainen I, Hof M, Freund C, Nickel W. (2017) Key Steps in Unconventional Secretion of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Reconstituted with Purified Components. 
eLife. 
 
(31)    Sciacca M F. M, Lolicato F, Di Mauro G, Milardi D, D’Urso L, Satriano C, Ramamoorthy A, La Rosa C. (2016) The Role of Cholesterol in Driving IAPP-Membrane Interactions. Biophys. J.  
 
(32)    La Rosa C, Scalisi S, Lolicato F, Pannuzzo M, Raudino A. (2016) Lipid-Assisted Protein Transport: A Diffusion-Reaction Model Supported by Kinetic Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J. Chem. Phys.
 
(33)    Lolicato F, Raudino A, Milardi D, La Rosa C. (2015) Resveratrol Interferes with the Aggregation of Membrane-Bound Human-IAPP: A Molecular Dynamics Study. Eur. J. Med. Chem.  
  
Preprints: 
 
(1)        Pedersen K B, Ingólfsson H I, Ramirez-Echemendia D P, Borges-Araújo L, Andreasen M D, Empereur-Mot C, Melcr J, Ozturk T N, Bennett D W F, Kjølbye L R, Brasnett C, Corradi V, Khan H M, Cino E A, Crowley J, Kim H, Fábián B, Borges-Araújo A C, Pavan G M, Lolicato F, Wassenaar T A, Melo M N, Thallmair S, Carpenter T S, Monticelli L, Tieleman D P, Schiøtt B, Souza P C T, Marrink S J. (2024). The Martini 3 lipidome: expanded and refined parameters improve lipid phase behavior BioRxiv.  
 
(2)        Hempelmann P, Lolicato F, Graziadei A, Brown R D R, Spiegel S, Rappsilber J, Nickel W, Höglinger D, Jamecna D. (2023) The sterol transporter STARD3 transports sphingosine at ER-lysosome contact sites. BioRxiv.  
 

 

SFB1638
Cellular membrane remodelling – how changing form creates function



SFB/TRR186
Molecular Switches in the Spatio-temporal Control of Cellular Signal Transmission


DFG Individual Research Grant
Structure-function relationship of FGF2 oligomers forming dynamic membrane pores in unconventional protein secretion