Stefan Raunser Explained

Stefan Raunser
Birth Date:1976
Birth Place:Germany, Landau-Palatinate
Nationality:German
Fields:Biochemistry
Workplaces:Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Harvard Medical School, Freie Universität Berlin, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen
Alma Mater:Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Goethe University Frankfurt
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Doctoral Advisor:Prof. Dr. Werner Kühlbrandt[1]
Academic Advisors:Prof. Dr. Roger S. Goody, Prof. Dr. Thomas Walz[2]
Known For:CryoEM, CryoET, Membrane protein, Toxin, Cytoskeleton, Sarcomere
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Awards:German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
EMBO Member
Einstein Foundation Berlin Professorship
Jugend forscht
Website:https://www.mpi-dortmund.mpg.de/research/departments/structural-biochemistry

Stefan Raunser[3] (born 1976[4] in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany) is a German scientist and structural biologist specializing in membrane proteins, the cytoskeleton, toxins, and sarcomere structural biochemistry. Since 2014, he has been a director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology[5] in Dortmund, Germany.

Education and career

Raunser studied biology and chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz and completed his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Goethe University Frankfurt in 2004, under the supervision of Prof. Werner Kühlbrandt at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt/Main.[6]

He continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, working with Thomas Walz[7] from 2005 to 2008. He then became an "Emmy Noether group leader"[8] at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, serving in that position from 2008 to 2013.[9] In 2014, Raunser held the Einstein Professorship[10] for Membrane Biochemistry at Free University of Berlin from January to June before assuming his current role as a director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology.[11] In 2015, he became an honorary professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen,[12] and later that same year, he became an adjunct professor at Technical University of Dortmund.[13]

Research and selected publications

The Raunser lab specializes in structural biochemistry, they employ and develop methods in CryoEM and CryoET to conduct research and uncover the molecular mechanisms in different aspects of cell biology.

Tc toxin complexes

In the field of Tc toxins, tripartite ABC-type toxins from Photorhabdus luminescens and other bacteria that are used by the bacteria as virulence factors,[14] his research has focused on molecular mechanisms involved in toxin activation,[15] toxin release,[16] receptor binding,[17] [18] membrane permeation,[19] protein translocation,[20] [21] and intoxication.[22] His group published a movie of the intoxication process. His work on Tc toxins has revealed their potential as customisable molecular syringes for delivering proteins across membranes, opening up possibilities for biotechnological and biomedical applications.[23] [24]

Software and hardware development in cryoEM/cryoET

The Raunser lab has contributed to developments in cryoEM image processing and cryoET hardware development.[25] They developed SPHIRE[26] (together with Pawel Penczek), which evolved later into TranSPHIRE.[27] The program offers an easy-to-use and versatile image processing suite for the single particle analysis of protein complexes in CryoEM. The group has also developed other software tools, such as SPHIRE-crYOLO[28] and TomoTwin,[29] [30] for automatic particle picking in cryoEM and cryoET. On the CryoET front, the group has developed a streamlined workflow for automated cryo-focused ion beam milling for the analysis of vitrified samples by electron cryo tomography.[31]

Structural biochemistry of the cytoskeleton and muscle contraction

Single particle approach

Raunser's group has increased the resolution limits of single particle cryoEM reconstructions of muscle and cytoskeletal proteins, including actin filaments (F-actin),[32] [33] actin filaments in complex with actin-binding proteins,[34] toxins[35] [36] and ligands,[37] [38] the actin-tropomyosin complex,[39] and the actomyosin complex.[40] [41] [42] The lab has determined the cryoEM structures of F-actin at ~2.2 Å resolution, allowing for the first time the direct visualisation of water molecules in the structure and giving atomic insight into ATP hydrolysis in F-actin[43] [44] [45] [46] and phosphate release from the filament after hydrolysis.[47]

Tomography approach

Raunser's group has revealed the three-dimensional organization of the sarcomere in situ,[48] [49] resolving the molecular organization of myosin, alpha-actinin-1, and additional sarcomeric components. The group also determined the first structure of native nebulin bound to actin thin filaments within intact sarcomeres at 4.5 Å resolution,[50] and has successfully obtained the world's first high-resolution 3D image of the myosin thick filament in its natural cellular environment.[51] [52]

Structural biochemistry of membrane proteins

Raunser's group has made significant contributions to understanding the structures of key proteins involved in cell signaling, such as the rabbit ryanodine receptor 1[53] and the TRPC4 channel,[54] as well as the Drosophila's Slowpoke (Slo) potassium channel.[55] This research has provided insights into the regulatory mechanisms and revealed potential target sites for drug development.

Fellowships and awards (selection)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mitglieder .
  2. Web site: Thomas Walz .
  3. Web site: Stefan Raunser Orcid.
  4. Web site: Stefan Raunser Max Planck Institute .
  5. Web site: Raunser .
  6. Web site: Website of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology .
  7. Web site: Thomas Walz Lab HHMI page.
  8. Web site: Emmy Noether Programme . 2023-08-03 . www.dfg.de . en.
  9. Web site: DFG - GEPRIS - Molecular regulation of cholesterol concentration in cell membranes . 2023-08-03 . gepris.dfg.de.
  10. Web site: Einstein Foundation Professorship - Stefan Raunser .
  11. Web site: Max Planck Institute Dortmund - Director Stefan Raunser .
  12. Web site: University of Duisburg-Essen - Honorary Professor Stefan Raunser .
  13. Web site: TU Dortmund - Professor Stefan Raunser .
  14. Roderer . Daniel . Raunser . Stefan . 2019-09-08 . Tc Toxin Complexes: Assembly, Membrane Permeation, and Protein Translocation . Annual Review of Microbiology . en . 73 . 1 . 247–265 . 10.1146/annurev-micro-102215-095531 . 31140906 . 169033606 . 0066-4227.
  15. Web site: Society . Max Planck . Researchers decode the toxin complex of the plague bacterium and other germs . 2023-11-11 . phys.org . en.
  16. preprint article on bioRxiv . 2023 . 10.1101/2023.02.22.529496 . Sitsel . Oleg . Wang . Zhexin . Janning . Petra . Kroczek . Lara . Wagner . Thorsten . Raunser . Stefan . 257154745 .
  17. Roderer . Daniel . Bröcker . Felix . Sitsel . Oleg . Kaplonek . Paulina . Leidreiter . Franziska . Seeberger . Peter H. . Raunser . Stefan . 2020 . Glycan-dependent cell adhesion mechanism of Tc toxins . Nature Communications . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 11 . 1 . 2694. 10.1038/s41467-020-16536-7 . 32483155 . 7264150 . 2020NatCo..11.2694R . 2041-1723.
  18. Xu . Ying . Viswanatha . Raghuvir . Sitsel . Oleg . Roderer . Daniel . Zhao . Haifang . Ashwood . Christopher . Voelcker . Cecilia . Tian . Songhai . Raunser . Stefan . Perrimon . Norbert . Dong . Min . October 2022 . CRISPR screens in Drosophila cells identify Vsg as a Tc toxin receptor . Nature . en . 610 . 7931 . 349–355 . 10.1038/s41586-022-05250-7 . 36171290 . 9631961 . 2022Natur.610..349X . 1476-4687.
  19. Gatsogiannis . Christos . Merino . Felipe . Prumbaum . Daniel . Roderer . Daniel . Leidreiter . Franziska . Meusch . Dominic . Raunser . Stefan . October 2016 . Membrane insertion of a Tc toxin in near-atomic detail . Nature Structural & Molecular Biology . en . 23 . 10 . 884–890 . 10.1038/nsmb.3281 . 27571177 . 42128471 . 1545-9985.
  20. Meusch . Dominic . Gatsogiannis . Christos . Efremov . Rouslan G. . Lang . Alexander E. . Hofnagel . Oliver . Vetter . Ingrid R. . Aktories . Klaus . Raunser . Stefan . 23 Feb 2014 . Mechanism of Tc toxin action revealed in molecular detail . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 508 . 7494 . 61–65 . 10.1038/nature13015 . 24572368 . 2014Natur.508...61M . 4462402 . 0028-0836.
  21. Web site: Society . Max Planck . Bacteria with vuvuzelas: Microbes use a channel protein as a syringe for toxins . 2023-11-11 . phys.org . en.
  22. Web site: Mechanism of bacterial toxins in deadly attacks . 2023-10-14 . EurekAlert! . en.
  23. Web site: Society . Max Planck . Protein injections in medicine . 2023-11-11 . phys.org . en.
  24. Web site: Protein injections in medicine could one day be possible, says new study . 2023-11-11 . Drug Target Review . en.
  25. Web site: ThermoFisher - lab portrait .
  26. Web site: SPHIRE .
  27. Stabrin . Markus . Schoenfeld . Fabian . Wagner . Thorsten . Pospich . Sabrina . Gatsogiannis . Christos . Raunser . Stefan . 11 Nov 2020 . TranSPHIRE: automated and feedback-optimized on-the-fly processing for cryo-EM . Nature Communications . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 11 . 1 . 5716. 10.1038/s41467-020-19513-2 . 33177513 . 7658977 . 2020NatCo..11.5716S . 219946743 . 2041-1723.
  28. Web site: crYOLO.
  29. News: Phys.org .
  30. Web site: TomoTwin.
  31. Tacke . Sebastian . Erdmann . Philipp . Wang . Zhexin . Klumpe . Sven . Grange . Michael . Plitzko . Jürgen . Raunser . Stefan . 2021 . A streamlined workflow for automated cryo focused ion beam milling . Journal of Structural Biology . Elsevier BV . 213 . 3 . 107743 . 10.1016/j.jsb.2021.107743 . 33971286 . 1047-8477. free .
  32. Merino . Felipe . Pospich . Sabrina . Funk . Johanna . Wagner . Thorsten . Küllmer . Florian . Arndt . Hans-Dieter . Bieling . Peter . Raunser . Stefan . June 2018 . Structural transitions of F-actin upon ATP hydrolysis at near-atomic resolution revealed by cryo-EM . Nature Structural & Molecular Biology . en . 25 . 6 . 528–537 . 10.1038/s41594-018-0074-0 . 29867215 . 256840705 . 1545-9985.
  33. Oosterheert . Wout . Klink . Björn U. . Belyy . Alexander . Pospich . Sabrina . Raunser . Stefan . 26 Oct 2022 . Structural basis of actin filament assembly and aging . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 611 . 7935 . 374–379 . 10.1038/s41586-022-05241-8 . 36289337 . 9646518 . 2022Natur.611..374O . 0028-0836.
  34. Funk . Johanna . Merino . Felipe . Schaks . Matthias . Rottner . Klemens . Raunser . Stefan . Bieling . Peter . 2021-09-09 . A barbed end interference mechanism reveals how capping protein promotes nucleation in branched actin networks . Nature Communications . en . 12 . 1 . 5329 . 10.1038/s41467-021-25682-5 . 34504078 . 8429771 . 2021NatCo..12.5329F . 2041-1723.
  35. Belyy . Alexander . Merino . Felipe . Mechold . Undine . Raunser . Stefan . 2021-11-16 . Mechanism of actin-dependent activation of nucleotidyl cyclase toxins from bacterial human pathogens . Nature Communications . en . 12 . 1 . 6628 . 10.1038/s41467-021-26889-2 . 34785651 . 8595890 . 2021NatCo..12.6628B . 2041-1723.
  36. Belyy . Alexander . Lindemann . Florian . Roderer . Daniel . Funk . Johanna . Bardiaux . Benjamin . Protze . Jonas . Bieling . Peter . Oschkinat . Hartmut . Raunser . Stefan . 2022-07-20 . Mechanism of threonine ADP-ribosylation of F-actin by a Tc toxin . Nature Communications . en . 13 . 1 . 4202 . 2022NatCo..13.4202B . 10.1038/s41467-022-31836-w . 2041-1723 . 9300711 . 35858890.
  37. Pospich . Sabrina . Küllmer . Florian . Nasufović . Veselin . Funk . Johanna . Belyy . Alexander . Bieling . Peter . Arndt . Hans‐Dieter . Raunser . Stefan . 4 Mar 2021 . Cryo‐EM Resolves Molecular Recognition Of An Optojasp Photoswitch Bound To Actin Filaments In Both Switch States . Angewandte Chemie International Edition . Wiley . 60 . 16 . 8678–8682 . 10.1002/anie.202013193 . 33449370 . 8048601 . 1433-7851.
  38. Belyy . Alexander . Merino . Felipe . Sitsel . Oleg . Raunser . Stefan . 2020-11-20 . Structure of the Lifeact–F-actin complex . PLOS Biology . en . 18 . 11 . e3000925 . 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000925 . 1545-7885 . 7717565 . 33216759 . free .
  39. von der Ecken . Julian . Müller . Mirco . Lehman . William . Manstein . Dietmar J. . Penczek . Pawel A. . Raunser . Stefan . 1 Dec 2014 . Structure of the F-actin–tropomyosin complex . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 519 . 7541 . 114–117 . 10.1038/nature14033 . 25470062 . 4477711 . 0028-0836.
  40. Web site: Society . Max Planck . Locating muscle proteins: Scientists bring the basis of muscle movement into sharper focus . 2023-10-14 . phys.org . en.
  41. Web site: Import . M. V. S. . 2016-07-24 . Was macht Spitzensportler schneller als andere? . 2023-08-11 . scinexx Das Wissensmagazin . de-DE.
  42. Web site: Why is Usain Bolt the fastest person on Earth? . 2023-10-14 . www.bionity.com . en.
  43. Web site: A pocket full of water molecules . 2023-08-11 . www.mpg.de . en.
  44. Web site: Tiniest Details of Actin Filaments Revealed . 2023-10-14 . Cell Science from Technology Networks . en.
  45. Web site: Through the backdoor: How phosphate escapes from actin . 2023-10-14 . EurekAlert! . en.
  46. Cossio . Pilar . Hocky . Glen M. . November 2022 . Catching actin proteins in action . Nature . en . 611 . 7935 . 241–243 . 10.1038/d41586-022-03343-x.
  47. Web site: Through the backdoor: How phosphate escapes from actin . 2023-11-11 . EurekAlert! . en.
  48. Web site: 2021-03-25 . Scientists produce high-resolution 3D image of sarcomere using electron cryo-tomography . 2023-11-11 . News-Medical.net . en.
  49. Web site: 2021-03-25 . Electron cryo-tomography reveals 3D images of sarcomeres at high resolution . 2023-11-11 . AZoLifeSciences.com . en.
  50. Web site: Wiley Analytical Science Magazine .
  51. Knight . Peter J. . 2023-11-01 . Getting to the heart of thick-filament structure . Nature . en . 10.1038/d41586-023-03307-9 . 0028-0836.
  52. Web site: First High-Resolution Image of Muscle Cell Filaments Captured . 2023-11-11 . Mirage News . en-AU.
  53. Efremov . Rouslan G. . Leitner . Alexander . Aebersold . Ruedi . Raunser . Stefan . 1 Dec 2014 . Architecture and conformational switch mechanism of the ryanodine receptor . Nature . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 517 . 7532 . 39–43 . 10.1038/nature13916 . 25470059 . 4383707 . 0028-0836.
  54. Vinayagam . Deivanayagabarathy . Quentin . Dennis . Yu-Strzelczyk . Jing . Sitsel . Oleg . Merino . Felipe . Stabrin . Markus . Hofnagel . Oliver . Yu . Maolin . Ledeboer . Mark W . Nagel . Georg . Malojcic . Goran . Raunser . Stefan . 25 Nov 2020 . Structural basis of TRPC4 regulation by calmodulin and pharmacological agents . eLife . eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd . 9 . 10.7554/elife.60603 . 33236980 . 7735759 . 2050-084X . free .
  55. Raisch . Tobias . Brockmann . Andreas . Ebbinghaus-Kintscher . Ulrich . Freigang . Jörg . Gutbrod . Oliver . Kubicek . Jan . Maertens . Barbara . Hofnagel . Oliver . Raunser . Stefan . 9 Dec 2021 . Small molecule modulation of the Drosophila Slo channel elucidated by cryo-EM . Nature Communications . Springer Science and Business Media LLC . 12 . 1 . 7164. 10.1038/s41467-021-27435-w . 34887422 . 8660915 . 2021NatCo..12.7164R . 2041-1723.
  56. Web site: Jansen . Marc . 2022-12-15 . Neue Mitglieder 2022: Stefan Raunser (Klasse für Naturwissenschaften und Medizin) . 2023-08-11 . Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste . de.
  57. Web site: German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Member Stefan Raunser.
  58. Web site: EMBO_facts_figures_2018 .
  59. Web site: Neue Mitglieder für das Junge Kolleg . 2023-08-11 . Stiftung Mercator . de-DE.

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