Faculty Biography

Magnus Höök earned his B.S in biochemistry and Ph.D. in medical chemistry at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He was an associate professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences before moving to the University of Alabama in 1986. There he rose to hold professorial positions in biochemistry, microbiology, and cell biology, and was an associate professor of ophthamology. In 1992 Dr. Hook joined IBT as director of its Center for Extracellular Matrix Biology and a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University. He is an adjunct professor in the Departments of Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine and also in the Departments of Integrative Biology and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He is a faculty member of its Graduate School of Biological Sciences as well.

Research Interests of Magnus Höök, Ph.D. -- Biology of the extracellular matrix using a combination of structural, biochemical, molecular and cell biological, immunological and genetic approaches.

Our laboratory is studying the biology of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Current projects include studies of the structural organization of the ECM and the molecular mechanisms of microbial adhesion to ECM molecules of the host. It is now well established that microorganisms causing disease in animals must first adhere to the host tissue. We have developed this area of research at a molecular level and found that many different microorganisms use ECM molecules as substrates for their adherence.

In our study of the structural organization of the ECM, we focus on the role of a family of extracellular matrix proteoglycans containing leucine-rich core proteins. These molecules seem to function primarily through interaction with other proteins in the ECM and may affect the structural organization of the ECM as well as the biological activity of matrix proteins.

Representative Publications

Johnson, H. J., Rosenberg, L., Choi, Garza, S., Höök, M., and Neame, P. J. (1997) Characterization of Epiphycan, a small proteoglycan with a leucine-rich repeat core protein. J. Biol. Chem. 272, 18709-18717.

Symersky, J., Patti, J.M., Carson, M., House-Pompeo, K, Teale, M., Moore, D. Jin, L., Schneider, A., DeLucas, L.J., Höök, M., and Sthanam, V.L.N. (1997) Structure of the collagen-binding domain from a Staphylococcus aureus adhesin. Nature Struct. Biol., 4, 833-838.

O'Connell, D.P., Nanavaty, T., McDevitt, D., Gurusiddappa, S., Höök, M., and Foster, T.J. (1998) The fibrinogen-binding MSCRAMM (clumping factor) of Staphylococcus aureus has a Ca2+-dependent inhibitory site. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 6821-6829.

Hanson, M.S., Cassatt, D.R., Guo, B.P., Patel, NK., McCarthy, M.P., Dorward, D.W. and Höök, M. (1998) Active and passive immunity against Borrelia burgdorferi decorin binding protein A (DbpA) protects against infection. Infect. & Immun. 66, 2143-2153.

Nilsson, I.M., Patti, J.M., Bremell, T., Höök, M., and Tarkowski, A. (1998) Vaccination with a recombinant fragment of collagen adhesin provides protection against Staphylococcus aureus - mediated septic death. J. Clin. Invest. 101, 2640-2649

Texas A&M Health Science Center - Institute of Biomedical Sciences