Holger Wille

Research:

The general focus of my work is the structure of amyloids and other disease-related, misfolded proteins. In particular, I am interested in the infectious prion protein (PrPSc) and the structure-function relationship underlying its infectious nature. In recent years, mounting evidence has implicated prion-like mechanisms in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's disease. The mechanistic similarities and their molecular underpinnings represent interesting research avenues beyond the classical prion diseases. The scope of my current experimental approaches is centered on electron microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction approaches, X-ray fiber diffraction, and other biochemical and biophysical methods.

Selected Publications:

The ultrastructure of infectious L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions constrains molecular models.
Kamali-Jamil, R, Vázquez-Fernández, E, Tancowny, B, Rathod, V, Amidian, S, Wang, X, Tang, X, Fang, A, Senatore, A, Hornemann, S, Dudas, S, Aguzzi, A, Young, HS, Wille, H
PLoS Pathogens (2021) 17, e1009628

Full atomistic model of prion structure and conversion.
Spagnolli G, Rigoli M, Orioli S, Sevillano AM, Faccioli P, Wille H, Biasini E, Requena JR.
PLoS Pathogens (2019) Jul 11;15(7):e1007864. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007864. eCollection 2019 Jul.

The Structure of PrP^Sc Prions
Wille H, Requena JR.
Pathogens. (2018) Feb 7;7(1). pii: E20. doi: 10.3390/pathogens7010020. Review

Elucidating the structure of an infectious protein.
Zweckstetter, M, Requena, JR, Wille, H.
PLoS Pathogenss (2017) 13 Apr 13(4): e1006229.

The structural architecture of an infectious mammalian prion using electron cryomicroscopy.
Vázquez-Fernández, E, Vos, MR, Afanasyev, P, Cebey, L, Sevillano, AM, Vidal, E, Rosa, I, Renault, L, Ramos, A, Peters, PJ, Fernández, JJ, van Heel, M, Young, HS, Requena, JR, Wille, H.
PLoS Pathogens (2016) 12, e1005835.

Structural studies of truncated forms of the prion protein PrP.
Wan W, Wille H, Stöhr J, Kendall A, Bian W, McDonald M, Tiggelaar S, Watts JC, Prusiner SB, Stubbs G.
Biophysical Journal (2015) 108, 1548-1554.

The structure of human prions: From biology to structural models - Considerations and pitfalls.
Acevedo-Morantes CY, Wille H.
Viruses (2014) 6, 3875-3892.