Chemical Biology

Chemical Biology

Prof. Dr. Markus Kaiser

Contact

Prof. Dr. Markus Kaiser

Faculty of Biology
Center of Medical Biotechnology (ZMB)
University of Duisburg-Essen

  • +49 201 183 4980
  • E-mail
  • S03 S02 A55

Research Overview

The Kaiser group develops and uses chemical biology approaches to investigate diverse aspects of regulated proteolysis and to study the molecular mechanisms behind bioactive small molecule action. Our interests are however not limited to basic research; rather, we aim to capitalize on our scientific findings for drug discovery or other medicinal applications.

Research Projects
Selected Publications
  • Führer, Siska; Gallant, Kai; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; Janning, Petra; Waldmann, Herbert; Gersch, Malte
    Small Molecule-Induced Alterations of Protein Polyubiquitination Revealed by Mass-Spectrometric Ubiquitome Analysis
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 64, 2025, Nr. 32, e202508916
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Brenner, Joel Cyrille; Zirden, Linda; Almeida-Hernandez, Yasser; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; Sanchez-Garcia, Elsa; Poepsel, Simon; Hellerschmied-Jelinek, Doris
    Conformational plasticity of a BiP-GRP94 chaperone complex
    In: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Vol. 32, 2025, Nr. 10, pp. 1947 – 1958
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Sanguankiattichai, Nattapong; Chandrasekar, Balakumaran; Sheng, Yuewen; Hardenbrook, Nathan; Tabak, Werner W.A.; Drapal, Margit; Kaschani, Farnusch; Grünwald-Gruber, Clemens; Krahn, Daniel; Buscaill, Pierre; Yamamoto, Suzuka; Kato, Atsushi; Nash, Robert; Fleet, George; Strasser, Richard; Fraser, Paul D.; Kaiser, Markus; Zhang, Peijun; Preston, Gail M.; van der Hoorn, Renier A.L.
    Bacterial pathogen deploys the iminosugar glycosyrin to manipulate plant glycobiology
    In: Science, Vol. 388, 2025, Nr. 6744, pp. 297 – 303
    DOI
  • Sewald, Leonard; Tabak, Werner W. A.; Fehr, Lorenz; Zolg, Samuel; Najdzion, Maja; Verhoef, Carlo J. A.; Podlesainski, David; Geiss-Friedlander, Ruth; Lammens, Alfred; Kaschani, Farnusch; Hellerschmied, Doris; Huber, Robert; Kaiser, Markus
    Sulphostin-inspired N-phosphonopiperidones as selective covalent DPP8 and DPP9 inhibitors
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 3208
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Katz, Liora S.; Visser, Emira J.; Plitzko, Kathrin F.; Pennings, Marloes A. M.; Cossar, Peter J.; Tse, Isabelle L.; Kaiser, Markus; Brunsveld, Luc; Ottmann, Christian; Scott, Donald K.
    Molecular glues of the regulatory ChREBP/14-3-3 complex protect beta cells from glucolipotoxicity
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 2025, Nr. 1, 2110
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Buscaill, Pierre; Sanguankiattichai, Nattapong; Kaschani, Farnusch; Huang, Jie; Mooney, Brian C.; Li, Yuge; Lyu, Joy; Sueldo, Daniela; Kaiser, Markus; van der Hoorn, Renier A. L.
    Subtilase SBT5.2 inactivates flagellin immunogenicity in the plant apoplast
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 15, 2024, Nr. 1, 10431
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Sauer PV, Pavlenko E, Cookis T, Zirden LC, Renn J, Singhal A, Hunold P, Hoehne-Wiechmann MN, van Ray O, Kaschani F, Kaiser M, Hänsel-Hertsch R, Sanbonmatsu KY, Nogales E, Poepsel S.
    Activation of automethylated PRC2 by dimerization on chromatin
    In: Mol Cell. 2024 Oct 17;84(20):3885-3898.e8.
    DOI
  • Chen, Changlong; Buscaill, Pierre; Sanguankiattichai, Nattapong; Huang, Jie; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; van der Hoorn, Renier A. L.
    Extracellular plant subtilases dampen cold-shock peptide elicitor levels
    In: Nature Plants, Vol. 10, 2024, Nr. 11, pp. 1749 – 1760
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Präve, Leonard; Kuttenlochner, Wolfgang; Tabak, Werner W.A.; Langer, Chiara; Kaiser, Markus; Groll, Michael; Bode, Helge B.
    Bioengineering of syrbactin megasynthetases for immunoproteasome inhibitor production
    In: Chem, Vol. 10, 2024, Nr. 10, pp. 3212 – 3223
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Huang, Jing; Jaekel, Andreas; van den Boom, Johannes; Podlesainski, David; Elnaggar, M.; Heuer-Jungemann, A.; Kaiser, Markus; Meyer, Hemmo; Saccà, Barbara
    A modular DNA origami nanocompartment for engineering a cell-free, protein unfolding and degradation pathway
    In: Nature Nanotechnology, Vol. 19, 2024, Nr. 10, pp. 1521 – 1531
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Podlesainski, David; Adeniyi, Emmanuel T.; Gröner, Yvonne; Schulz, Florian; Krisilia, Violetta; Rehberg, Nidja; Richter, Tim; Sehr, Daria; Xie, Huzhuyue; Simons, Viktor E.; Kiffe-Delf, Anna-Lene; Kaschani, Farnusch; Ioerger, Thomas R.; Kaiser, Markus; Kalscheuer, Rainer
    The anti-tubercular callyaerins target the Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific non-essential membrane protein Rv2113
    In: Cell Chemical Biology, Vol. 31, 2024, Nr. 10, pp. 1755 – 1771.e73
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Ninck, Sabrina; Klaus, Thomas; Kochetkova, Tatiana V.; Esser, Sarah P.; Sewald, Leonard; Kaschani, Farnusch; Bräsen, Christopher; Probst, Alexander J.; Kublanov, Ilya V.; Siebers, Bettina; Kaiser, Markus
    Environmental activity-based protein profiling for function-driven enzyme discovery from natural communities
    In: Environmental Microbiomes, Vol. 19, 2024, Nr. 1, 36
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Day, Matthew; Tetik, Bilal; Parlak, Milena; Almeida-Hernández, Yasser; Räschle, Markus; Kaschani, Farnusch; Siegert, Heike; Marko, Anika; Sanchez-Garcia, Elsa; Kaiser, Markus; Barker, Isabel A.; Pearl, Laurence H.; Oliver, Antony W.; Boos, Dominik
    TopBP1 utilises a bipartite GINS binding mode to support genome replication
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 15, 2024, Nr. 1, 1797
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Beaufort, Nathalie; Ingendahl, Linda; Merdanovic, Melisa; Schmidt, Andree; Podlesainski, David; Richter, Tim; Neumann, Thorben; Kuszner, Michael; Vetter, Ingrid R.; Stege, Patricia; Burston, Steven G.; Filipovic, Anto; Ruiz-Blanco, Yasser B.; Bravo Rodriguez, Kenny; Mieres-Perez, Joel; Beuck, Christine; Uebel, Stephan; Zobawa, Monika; Schillinger, Jasmin; Malik, Rainer; Todorov-Völgyi, Katalin; Rey, Juliana; Roberti, Annabell; Hagemeier, Birte; Wefers, Benedikt; Müller, Stephan A.; Wurst, Wolfgang; Sanchez-Garcia, Elsa; Zimmermann, Alexander; Hu, Xiao-Yu; Clausen, Tim; Huber, Robert; Lichtenthaler, Stefan F.; Schmuck, Carsten; Giese, Michael; Kaiser, Markus; Ehrmann, Michael; Dichgans, Martin
    Rational correction of pathogenic conformational defects in HTRA1
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 15, 2024, Nr. 1, 5944
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Ninck, Sabrina; Halder, Vivek; Krahn, Jan; Beisser, Daniela; Resch, Sarah; Dodds, Isobel; Scholtysik, René; Bormann, Jenny; Sewald, Leonard; Gupta, Mainak D.; Heilmann, Geronimo; Bhandari, Deepak D.; Morimoto, Kyoko; Buscaill, Pierre; Hause, Bettina; van der Hoorn, Renier A. L.; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus
    Chemoproteomics Reveals the Pan-HER Kinase Inhibitor Neratinib To Target an Arabidopsis Epoxide Hydrolase Related to Phytohormone Signaling
    In: ACS Chemical Biology, Vol. 18, 2023, Nr. 5, pp. 1076 – 1088
    DOI
  • Blüggel, Mike; Kröning, Alexander; Kracht, Matthias; van den Boom, Johannes; Dabisch, Matthias; Göhring, Anna; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; Bayer, Peter; Meyer, Hemmo; Beuck, Christine
    The UBX domain in UBXD1 organizes ubiquitin binding at the C-terminus of the VCP/p97 AAA-ATPase
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 14, 2023, Nr. 1, 3258
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Hoi, David M.; Junker, Sabryna; Junk, Lukas; Schwechel, Kristin; Fischel, Katharina; Podlesainski, David; Hawkins, Paige M.E.; van Geelen, Lasse; Kaschani, Farnusch; Leodolter, Julia; Morreale, Francesca Ester; Kleine, Stefan; Guha, Somraj; Rumpel, Klaus; Schmiedel, Volker M.; Weinstabl, Harald; Meinhart, Anton; Payne, Richard J.; Kaiser, Markus; Hartl, Markus; Boehmelt, Guido; Kazmaier, Uli; Kalscheuer, Rainer; Clausen, Tim
    Clp-targeting BacPROTACs impair mycobacterial proteostasis and survival
    In: Cell, Vol. 186, 2023, Nr. 10, pp. 2176 – 2192.e22
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Andlovic, Blaž; Heilmann, Geronimo; Ninck, Sabrina; Andrei, Sebastian A.; Centorrino, Federica; Higuchi, Yusuke; Kato, Nobuo; Brunsveld, Luc; Arkin, Michelle; Menninger, Sascha; Choidas, Axel; Wolf, Alexander; Klebl, Bert; Kaschani, Farnusch; Kaiser, Markus; Eickhoff, Jan; Ottmann, Christian
    IFNα primes cancer cells for Fusicoccin-induced cell death via 14-3-3 PPI stabilization
    In: Cell Chemical Biology, Vol. 30, 2023, Nr. 6, pp. 573 – 590.e6
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)
  • Schmerling, Christian; Sewald, Leonard; Heilmann, Geronimo; Witfeld, Frederick; Begerow, Dominik; Jensen, Kenneth; Bräsen, Christopher; Kaschani, Farnusch; Overkleeft, Herman S.; Siebers, Bettina; Kaiser, Markus
    Erratum: Author Correction: Identification of fungal lignocellulose-degrading biocatalysts secreted by Phanerochaete chrysosporium via activity-based protein profiling (Communications biology (2022) 5 1 (1254))
    In: Communications Biology, Vol. 5, 2022, Nr. 1, pp. 1319
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Carvalho, Luís A. R.; Ross, Breyan; Fehr, Lorenz; Bolgi, Oguz; Wöhrle, Svenja; Lum, Kenneth M.; Podlesainski, David; Vieira, Andreia C.; Kiefersauer, Reiner; Félix, Rita; Rodrigues, Tiago; Lucas, Susana D.; Groß, Olaf; Geiss‐Friedlander, Ruth; Cravatt, Benjamin F.; Huber, Robert; Kaiser, Markus; Moreira, Rui
    Chemoproteomics‐Enabled Identification of 4‐Oxo‐β‐Lactams as Inhibitors of Dipeptidyl Peptidases 8 and 9
    In: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 61, 2022, Nr. 47, e202210498
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Morreale, Francesca E.; Kleine, Stefan; Leodolter, Julia; Junker, Sabryna; Hoi, David M.; Ovchinnikov, Stepan; Okun, Anastasia; Kley, Juliane; Kurzbauer, Robert; Junk, Lukas; Guha, Somraj; Podlesainski, David; Kazmaier, Uli; Boehmelt, Guido; Weinstabl, Harald; Rumpel, Klaus; Schmiedel, Volker M.; Hartl, Markus; Haselbach, David; Meinhart, Anton; Kaiser, Markus; Clausen, Tim
    BacPROTACs mediate targeted protein degradation in bacteria
    In: Cell, Vol. 185, 2022, Nr. 13, pp. 2338 – 2353.e18
    DOI (Open Access)
  • Chauvistré, Heike; Shannan, Batool; Daignault-Mill, Sheena M.; Ju, Robert J.; Picard, Daniel; Egetemaier, Stefanie; Váraljai, Renáta; Gibhardt, Christine S.; Sechi, Antonio; Kaschani, Farnusch; Keminer, Oliver; Stehbens, Samantha J.; Liu, Qin; Yin, Xiangfan; Jeyakumar, Kirujan; Vogel, Felix C. E.; Krepler, Clemens; Rebecca, Vito W.; Kubat, Linda; Lueong, Smiths S.; Forster, Jan; Horn, Susanne; Remke, Marc; Ehrmann, Michael; Paschen, Annette; Becker, Jürgen; Helfrich, Iris; Rauh, Daniel; Kaiser, Markus; Gul, Sheraz; Herlyn, Meenhard; Bogeski, Ivan; Rodríguez-López, José Neptuno; Haass, Nikolas K.; Schadendorf, Dirk; Rösch, Alexander
    Persister state-directed transitioning and vulnerability in melanoma
    32. Deutscher Hautkrebskongress (ADO-Jahrestagung), 14.–17. September 2022, Hannover, Germany,
    In: Nature Communications, Vol. 13, 2022, Nr. 1, pp. 35 – 36
    DOI, Online Full Text (Open Access)