Molecular & Systems Toxicology

The Division of Molecular and Systems Toxicology (MolSysTox), headed by Prof. Dr. Alex Odermatt, is a dynamic and innovative research group consisting of internal (University employed) and external (industry, visiting scientists) members (Research Associates, PostDocs, PhD and Master students).

MolSysTox was founded in 2007 by a joint effort of our University with the Novartis Research Foundation with the mission to promote research and education in toxicology. From 2012, it was fully integrated into the University of Basel.

The MolSysTox group follows a highly multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach to study the impact of endogenous and exogenous substances on steroid hormone-mediated responses as well as on metabolism and redox regulation. The main areas of interest include metabolic and inflammatory diseases, developmental and reproductive disorders, and cancer. The group applies a combination of analytical, in silico, in vitro and in vivo methods to identify and characterize hazardous substances, elucidate their mechanism-of-action, and study their health consequences (see Research).

The research of MolSysTox is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT), the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), and industry.

MolSysTox offers many educational activities in the field of toxicology. Prof. Odermatt and Prof. em. Krähenbühl initiated the MSc Toxicology, which was later integrated into the MSc Drug Sciences, which is directed by Prof. Odermatt. Furthermore, MolSysTox regularly offers projects for Master students. 

The latest publication of the group "A BioID-based approach uncovers the interactome of hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in breast cancer cells and identifies anterior gradient protein 2 as an interacting partner” published in BMC Cell&Bioscience

In this work, we demonstrate that the BioID-based method can be successfully applied within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to identify protein-protein interactions. The hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) catalyzes the first two steps of the pentose-phosphate pathway in the ER but its role remains insufficiently understood, and the interactome should guide further investigations. The identified interactor AGR2 affected H6PD expression and enhanced its enzymatic activity in breast cancer cells. Whether this results in more aggressive cancer cell phenotype requires further research.

Read more about our research