Professor Dr Marino Zerial

Research Priorities: Cell biology, endocytosis, intracellular trafficking, Rab GTPases, cell polarity
Marino Zerial is an Italian-German cell biologist and biochemist. He conducts research into the molecular mechanisms of endocytosis and intracellular trafficking. He has succeeded in explaining the functional mechanism of Rab GTPases. These enzymes regulate the formation and development of organelles and vesicle membrane fusion, i.e. the fusion of vesicles with endosomes. Marino Zerial’s work provides insights into the mechanisms involved in the development of liver diseases and RNA therapeutics.
Endocytosis is the uptake of material into the cell by the invagination of areas of the cell membrane. Marino Zerial’s team is investigating the underlying processes – from the molecular mechanisms to the effects on cell and tissue organisation. They are investigating the molecular mechanisms by which intracellular vesicles transport their cargo to the correct destination. Marino Zerial discovered that the enzymes Rab GTPases are important for intracellular trafficking and that Rab5 plays a crucial role in endocytosis and vesicle fusion and biogenesis.
The structure and function of liver tissue are of particular interest to the research group. They are pursuing an approach which combines biochemical and biophysical methods with modern light microscopy, cell biology and computer-aided three-dimensional tissue reconstruction. They have developed image analysis and computational pipelines to generate geometric and functional 3D models of liver tissue and bile flow. Marino Zerial has thus discovered certain structures on the apical sides of liver cells which play a role in the growth of bile ducts. In a further approach, Marino Zerial’s research group is investigating the mechanisms of RNA therapeutics (siRNA and mRNA) and RNA endocytosis.