Education and Professional Experience

• 1982–1988 Studied biology at the Technical University and Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich
• 1987–1992 Master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation in the research group of Dr. Ernst Ungewickell at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried
• 1992–1997 Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Emil Unanue’s research group at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (USA)
• 1997–2000 Group Leader (C1) at the Institute of Genetics, University of Bonn
• Since 2000: Research group leader at the Institute of Cell Biology, merged in 2016 to form the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology

Awards

• 1982–1987 Scholarship from the Bavarian Foundation for the Promotion of Gifted Students
• 1985–1987 Scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation
• 1992–1994 DFG Fellowship for Research Abroad

Memberships:

• Since 1993 American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)
• Since 2005 German Society for Cell Biology (DGZ)

Teaching

• Human medicine study programme: Cell Biology and Microscopic Anatomy
• Study programme in dentistry: Microscopic Anatomy
• Master’s programs in Biomedicine and Biochemistry: Cell Biology and Electron Microscopy
• Bachelor’s program in Biology: Immunology (2000–2011)
• PhD Program in "Molecular Medicine": Cell Biology/Membrane Domains

Additional Qualifications and Activities

• 2001 Genetic Engineering Safety Course , Project Leader S1
• 2009 Training on the FEI Tecnai electron microscope in Eindhoven
• 2009–2013 Technical Director of the Central EM Laboratory (with Dr. S. Groos)
• 2011–2012 University Teaching Program "Active in Teaching"
• 2012–2015 Adjunct Lecturer for the module “Fundamentals of Cell Biology in Medicine”
• Since 2014 Module Coordinator for Cell Biology in the Master’s programs in Biomedicine and Biochemistry
• Since 2014 Authorised Representative for Radiation Safety
• Since 2015: Authorised Representative for Occupational Safety
• 2020 Expertise in Animal Experimentation Methods

Research Focus

1. Intracellular transport processes
   After entering this field during my doctoral studies with several papers on coat proteins of clathrin-coated membrane vesicles, membrane transport processes have become the central theme of my research.
2. Antigen Presentation and Membrane Domains
   Starting during my PostDoc in Dr. Emil Unanue’s laboratory in St. Louis, the focus shifted to intracellular loading pathways of MHC II molecules. There, I developed a method that allows for the tracking of antigen processing and the subsequent loading of MHC II molecules in cells. Using this technique, we were able to characterize two distinct loading pathways based on their loading products for the first time (Lindner and Unanue, 1996). Subsequent work by my own research group in Bonn and Hanover focused on the access of MHC molecules to their loading compartments and provided the basis for describing a function of membrane domains in the transport of MHC I and MHC II molecules (Knorr et al., 2009). Furthermore, the pleiotropic cytokine MIF came into focus, which induces a convergence of membrane domains from newly synthesized MHC II and those from antigen-binding B-cell receptors, thereby triggering a shared endocytosis and possibly a “passing on” of processed antigens from B-cell receptors to MHC II molecules. (Lindner, 2017).
3. Pathomechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases
   Following the merger of the Institute of Cell Biology with the Institute of Neuroanatomy, I investigated whether changes in endocytosis occur in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMA is a severe neurodegenerative disease that leads to the death of motor neurons and the degeneration of the muscles they innervate. We have identified a novel macropinocytosis pathway in motor neurons that is upregulated in SMA. This leads to increased internalization of BMP receptors and their subsequent degradation in lysosomes. Since BMP receptors are crucial for the maintenance of neuromuscular synapses and motor neurons, this explains why these structures are primarily damaged in SMA. We were also able to demonstrate how the genetic defect that causes SMA leads to the upregulation of this novel macropinocytosis pathway (see Fig.). How this internalization pathway functions exactly, whether other receptors are involved, and whether this mechanism also plays a role in neuronal developmental disorders in SMA will be the subject of future investigations.

Key references

Distinct antigen-MHC class II-complexes generated by separate processing pathways. Lindner, R. and Unanue, E.R. (1996). EMBO J. 15, 6910-6920.

Endocytosis of MHC molecules by distinct membrane rafts. Knorr, R., Karacsonyi, C., and Lindner, R. (2009). J. Cell Sci. 122, 1584–1594.

Invariant chain complexes and clusters as platforms for MIF signaling. Lindner, R. (2017). Cells 6, 6; doi:10.3390/cells6010006.

Online Profile:
ORCID: 0000-0002-6421-5778