Kath-Schorr lab - Institute for Organic Chemistry
The Role of Z-RNA in Relocalization of Zα Doman-Containing Proteins in Cells
Certain regions in double stranded (ds) RNA are able to form left-handed duplex structures. This left-handed RNA conformation, termed Z-RNA due to its zig-zag backbone structure, is highly unstable and forms in vitro only at high salt conditions or using stabilizing nucleotide modifications. Due to its unstable character and related challenges in studying Z-RNA formation, only in recent years evidence has emerged that Z-RNA duplexes are transiently formed in cells and have important biological functions, in particular may play a major role in the innate immune response.
Z-DNA/Z-RNA is bound by the Zα domain protein family that includes in mammals only two proteins, adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) and Z-DNA-binding protein 1 (ZBP1). During cellular stresses such as heat, arsenite and interferon-induced stress, both ADAR1 and ZBP1 relocalize from bulk cytosol to cytosolic stress granules based on the presence of Zα domains. There is strong evidence that this event is associated with Z-RNA formation as mutations in Zα domains preventing dsRNA binding abolish protein relocalization. We aim to investigate the transient formation of Z-RNA and its impact on relocalization of Zα domain proteins upon cellular stress.
Finn Dicke
PhD Students since July 2023
EMail: fdicke[at]smail.uni-koeln.de
"I obtained my Bachelor's and Master's degree in chemistry in Cologne before joining the Kath-Schorr lab for my doctoral studies. Here, I work on chemically modified nucleobases which stabilise Z-RNA and Z-DNA, a usually unstable left-handed double helix structure of nucleic acids."
Julian Strippel
PhD Students since September 2023
EMail: jstrippe[at]smail.uni-koeln.de
"After finishing my Master thesis in Organic Chemistry in 2023, I decided to stay in Cologne to join the Kath-Schorr lab for my doctoral studies. In my project I aim to develop and synthesize small-molecules that can stimulate the innate immune response in plants by facilitating signalling protein/protein interactions."
Publications:
- A-S. Schüen, A. S. Bumberger, B. Bädorf, D. Kendirlik, S. Kath-Schorr, S. Grimme, P. Kielb* UV Resonance Raman Spectroscopic Marker Bands of Base Pair Formation During Nucleic Acids Assembly, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2025, just accepted
- R. Hesse, C. G. W. Gertzen, J. F. Schmuck, J. D. Böcker, P. Pandey, T. Behn, C. Ruth, D. Riesner, S. Kath-Schorr, P. A. Lang, H. Gohlke, M. Etzkorn
“The coming of age of DNA-based catalysts for therapeutic applications”
Clin Transl Med. 2025; 15:e70408. DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.70408 - R. Dörrenhaus, P. K. Wagner and S. Kath-Schorr*
"Towards a hydrolysis stable artificial base pair with C-glycosides"
Chem. Commun., 2025. DOI: 10.1039/D5CC02749G - S. Caixeiro*, R. Dörrenhaus, A. Popczyk, M. Schubert, S. Kath-Schorr* & M. C. Gather*
"DNA Sensing with Whispering Gallery Mode Microlasers"
Nano Letters, 2025. DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c00078 - Eva S. Hoffmann, Mareike C. De Pascali, Lukas Neu, Christof Domnick, Alice Soldà and S. Kath-Schorr*
"Reverse transcription as key step in RNA in vitro evolution with unnatural base pairs"
RSC chem. biol. 2024. doi: 10.1039/D4CB00084F - H. Depmeier and S. Kath-Schorr*
"Expanding the Horizon of the Xeno Nucleic Acid Space: Threose Nucleic Acids with Increased Information Storage"
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c14626 - R. Dörrenhaus, P. K. Wagner and S. Kath-Schorr*
"Two are not enough: synthetic strategies and applications of unnatural base pairs"
Biological Chemistry, 2023. DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2023-0169 - S. Kath-Schorr*
"Trendbericht Organische Chemie 2022 - Oligonukleotide"
Nachr. Chem., 2023 - L. Bornewasser C. Domnick and S.Kath-Schorr*
"Stronger together for in-cell translation: natural and unnatural base modified mRNA"
Chemical Science. 2022, doi: 10.1039/D2SC00670G - L. Bornewasser and S.Kath-Schorr*
"Preparation of Site-Specifically Spin-Labeled RNA by in Vitro Transcription Using an Expanded Genetic Alphabet"
Methods Mol Biol. 2022, 2439, 223-240. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2047-2_15