Skip to main content

Department of Natural Sciences

Profilbild_Sebastian_Franken

Prof. Dr Sebastian Franken

Professor in Biology, in particular Molecular Drug Research

Unit

Department of Natural Sciences

Research fields

  • Molecular drug research
  • Pharmacodynamics of herbal medicines
  • Signal transduction
  • Single molecule analysis

Location

Rheinbach

Room

G102

Address

Von-Liebig-Straße 20

53359 Rheinbach

Telephone

+492241 865 524

Profile

Research fields

  •   Molecular drug research
  •   Pharmacodynamics of herbal medicines
  •   Signal transduction
  •   Single molecule analysis

 

Methods

  •   In cell assays for the analysis of signal transduction pathways
  •   Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy
  •   Single molecule tracking
  •   High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
  •   Molecular biology, protein biochemistry and cell culture techniques


Courses

  •   Analyzing Signal Transduction (M.Sc. Biomedical Sciences)

Curriculum vitae

since 09/2024 Professor of Biology, in particular Molecular Drug Research

2020 - 2024 Privatdozent - Institute for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology - University Hospital Bonn

2016 - 2020 Manager Preclinical Research & Development - Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG

2012 - 2015 Life Science Incubator GmbH

2010 Habilitation in the field of biochemistry

2000 - 2012 Research associate - Institute of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology - University Hospital Bonn

1997 - 2000 PhD thesis in Molecular Neurobiology - University Hospital Düsseldorf

1991 - 1996 Study of Biology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf

Publications

S. Franken

[46] Hufnagel M, Rademaekers A, Weisert A, Häberlein H, Franken S. Pharmacological profile of dicaffeoylquinic acids and their role in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Front Pharmacol. 2024 Aug 22;15:1371613. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1371613.

[45] Bremer S, Weitkemper E, Häberlein H, Franken S. St. John's wort extract Ze 117 alters the membrane fluidity of C6 glioma cells by influencing cellular cholesterol metabolism. Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 30;14(1):9878. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60562-0.

[44] Meurer F, Häberlein H, Franken, S. Ivy Leaf Dry Extract EA 575® Has an Inhibitory Effect on the Signalling Cascade of Adenosine Receptor A2B. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24, 12373. doi: 10.3390/ijms241512373.

[43] Saecker L, Häberlein H, Franken S. Investigation of adenosine A1 receptor-mediated β-arrestin 2 recruitment using a split-luciferase assay. Front Pharmacol. 2023 May 30;14:1172551. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1172551. eCollection 2023.

[42] Bussmann H, Bremer S, Häberlein H, Boonen G, Drewe J, Butterweck V, Franken S. Impact of St. John's wort extract Ze 117 on stress induced changes in the lipidome of PBMC. Mol Med. 2023 Apr 7;29(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s10020-023-00644-3.

[41] Bussmann H, Häberlein H, Boonen G, Drewe J, Butterweck V, Franken S. Effect of St. John's wort extract Ze 117 on the lateral mobility of β1-adrenergic receptors in C6 cells. Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Jan;157:114006. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2022.114006. Epub 2022 Nov 14.

[40] Stefan Aatz, Sebastian Franken, Christiane Kolb, Hanns Häberlein, St. John's wort extract STW3-VI affects the binding behaviour, signal transduction and lateral mobility of 5-HT2A receptors observed by single molecule detection and the use of a novel fluorescence-labeled ligand. Phytomedicine Plus 2022; 2(3). doi: 10.1016/j.phyplu.2022.100320.

[39] Franken S and Häberlein H. Efeublätter-Trockenextrakt - Neue Erkenntnisse zum Wirkmechanismus. Phytokompass. 2022; 1; 32-33.

[38] Meurer F, Schulte-Michels J, Häberlein H, Franken S. Ivy leaves dry extract EA 575® mediates biased β2-adrenergic receptor signaling. Phytomedicine. 2021. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2021.153645.

[37] Bussmann H, Schulte-Michels J, Bingel M, Meurer F, Aatz S, Häberlein F, Franken S, Häberlein H. A comparative study on the influence of an ivy preparation and an ivy/thyme combination on the β2-adrenergic signal transduction. Heliyon. 2020 May 15;6(5):e03960. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03960. eCollection 2020 May.

[36] Keksel N, Bussmann H, Unger M, Drewe J, Boonen G, Häberlein H, Franken S. St John's wort extract influences membrane fluidity and composition of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine in rat C6 glioblastoma cells. Phytomedicine. 2019 Feb 15;54:66-76. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2018.06.013. Epub 2018 Jun 28.

[35] Schulte-Michels J, Keksel C, Häberlein H, Franken S. Anti-inflammatory effects of ivy leaves dry extract: influence on transcriptional activity of NFκB. Inflammopharmacology. 2018 May 11. doi: 10.1007/s10787-018-0494-9. [Epub ahead of print]

[34] Dodenhof T, Dietz F, Franken S, Grunwald I, Kelm S. Splice variants of perlucin from Haliotis laevigata modulate the crystallisation of CaCO3. PLoS One. 2014 May 13;9(5):e97126. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097126. eCollection 2014

[33] Meschenmoser K, Kim Y, Franken S, Nowak M, Feldmann G, Bendas G, Wolfgarten M, Messmer D, Schmidt-Wolf IG. Targeting cancer with a bi-functional peptide: in vitro and in vivo results. In Vivo. 2013 Jul-Aug;27(4):431-42.

[32] Bremer S, Klein K, Sedlmaier A, Abouzied M, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Hepatoma-derived growth factor and nucleolin exist in the same ribonucleoprotein complex. BMC Biochem. 2013 Jan 10;14:2. doi: 10.1186/1471-2091-14-2.

[31] Persichetti E, Klein K, Paciotti S, Lecointe K, Balducci C, Franken S, Duvet S, Matzner U, Roberti R, Hartmann D, Gieselmann V, Beccari T. Lysosomal di-N-acetylchitobiase-deficient mouse tissues accumulate Man2GlcNAc2 and Man3GlcNAc2. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012 Jul;1822(7):1137-46. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2012.03.005. Epub 2012 Mar 20.

[30] Kämper N, Franken S, Temme S, Koch S, Bieber T, Koch N. g-Interferon-regulated chaperone governs human lymphocyte antigen class II expression. FASEB J. 2012 Jan;26(1):104-16.

[29] Sedlmaier A, Wernert N, Gallitzendörfer R, Abouzied MM, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Overexpression of hepatoma-derived growth factor in melanocytes does not lead to oncogenic transformation. BMC Cancer. 2011 Oct 20;11:457.

[28] Debald M, Franken S, Heukamp LC, Linke A, Wolfgarten M, Walgenbach KJ, Braun M, Rudlowski C, Gieselmann V, Kuhn W, Hartmann G, Walgenbach-Brünagel G. Identification of specific nuclear structural protein alterations in human breast cancer. J Cell Biochem. 2011 Nov;112(11):3176-84.

[30] Kämper N, Franken S, Temme S, Koch S, Bieber T, Koch N. g-Interferon-regulated chaperone governs human lymphocyte antigen class II expression. FASEB J. 2012 Jan;26(1):104-16.

[27] Bender T, Lewrenz I, Franken S, Baitzel C, Voos W. Mitochondrial enzymes are protected from stress-induced aggregation by mitochondrial chaperones and the Pim1/LON protease. Mol Biol Cell. 2011 Mar 1;22(5):541-54.

[26] Abouzied MM, El-Tahir HM, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Hepatoma-derived growth factor-related protein-3: a new neurotrophic and neurite outgrowth-promoting factor for cortical neurons. J Neurosci Res. 2010 Dec;88(16):3610-20.

[25] Bender T, Leidhold C, Ruppert T, Franken S, Voos W. The role of protein quality control in mitochondrial protein homeostasis under oxidative stress. Proteomics 2010 Apr;10(7):1426-43.

[24] Kappler J, Hegener O, Baader SL, Franken S, Gieselmann V, Häberlein H, Rauch U. Transport of a hyaluronan-binding protein in brain tissue. Matrix Biol. 2009 Sep;28(7):396-405.

[23] El-Tahir HM, Abouzied MM, Gallitzendoerfer R, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Hepatoma-derived growth factor-related protein-3 interacts with microtubules and promotes neurite outgrowth in mouse cortical neurons. J Biol Chem. 2009 Apr 24;284(17):11637-51.

[22] Bennati AM, Schiavoni G, Franken S, Piobbico D, Della Fazia MA, Caruso D, De Fabiani E, Benedetti L, Cusella De Angelis MG, Gieselmann V, Servillo G, Beccari T, Roberti R. Disruption of the gene encoding 3beta-hydroxysterol Delta(14)-reductase (Tm7sf2) in mice does not impair cholesterol biosynthesis. FEBS J. 2008 Oct;275(20):5034-47.

[21] Gallitzendoerfer R, Abouzied MM, Hartmann D, Dobrowolski R, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is dispensable for normal mouse development. Dev Dyn. 2008 Jul;237(7):1875-85.

[20] Clermont F, Gonzalez NS, Communi D, Franken S, Dumont JE, Robaye B. HDGF is dephosphorylated during the early steps of endothelial cell apoptosis in a caspase-dependent way. J Cell Biochem. 2008 Jul 1;104(4):1161-71.

[19] Thakar K, Niedenthal R, Okaz E, Franken S, Jakobs A, Gupta S, Kelm S, Dietz F. SUMOylation of the hepatoma-derived growth factor negatively influences its binding to chromatin. FEBS J. 2008 Apr;275(7):1411-26. Epub 2008 Mar 5.

[18] Saravanan K, Bussow H, Weiler N, Gieselmann V, Franken S. spontaneously immortalized Schwann cell line to study the molecular aspects of metachromatic leukodystrophy. J Neurosci Methods. 2007 Jan 2;

[17] Runkel F, Michels M, Franken S, Franz T. Specific expression of annexin A8 in adult murine stratified epithelia. J Mol Histol. 2006 Nov;37(8-9):353-9. Epub 2006 Nov 3.

[16] Franken S, Wittke D, Mansson JE, D'Hooge R, De Deyn PP, Lullmann-Rauch R, Matzner U, Gieselmann V. Modest phenotypic improvements in ASA-deficient mice with only one UDP-galactose:ceramide-galactosyltransferase gene. Lipids Health Dis. 2006 Aug 7;5(1):21

[15] El-Tahir HM, Dietz F, Dringen R, Schwabe K, Strenge K, Kelm S, Abouzied MM, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Expression of hepatoma-derived growth factor family members in the adult central nervous system. BMC Neurosci. 2006 Jan 23;7:6.

[14] Abouzied MM, Mahmoud El-tahir H, Prenner L, Häberlein H, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Hepatoma-derived growth factor: Significance of amino acid residues 81-100 in cell surface interaction and proliferative activity. J Biol Chem. 2005 Mar 25;280(12):10945-54.

[13] Lind D, Franken S, Kappler J, Jankowski J, Schilling K. Characterization of the neuronal marker NeuN as a multiply phosphorylated antigen with discrete subcellular localization. J Neurosci Res. 2005 Feb 1;79(3):295-302.

[12] Molander-Melin M, Pernber Z, Franken S, Gieselmann V, Mansson JE, Fredman P. Accumulation of sulfatide in neuronal and glial cells of arylsulfatase A deficient mice. J Neurocytol. 2004 Jul;33(4):417-27.

[11] Saravanan K, Schaeren-Wiemers N, Klein D, Sandhoff R, Schwarz A, Yaghootfam A, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Specific downregulation and mistargeting of the lipid raft associated protein MAL in a glycolipid storage disorder. Neurobiol Dis. 2004 Jul;16(2):396-406.

[10] Abouzied MM, Baader SL, Dietz F, Kappler J, Gieselmann V, Franken S. Expression patterns and different subcellular localization of growth factors HDGF and HRP-3 suggest functions in addition to their mitogenic activity. Biochem J. 2004 Feb 15;378(Pt 1):169-76.

[9] Gieselmann V, Franken S, Klein D, Mansson JE, Sandhoff R, Lullmann Rauch R, Hartmann D, Saravanan VP, De Deyn PP, D'Hooge R, Van Der Linden AM, Schaeren-Wiemers N. Metachromatic leukodystrophy: consequences of sulphatide accumulation. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2003 Dec;92(443):74-9; discussion 45.

[8] Rosslenbroich V, Dai L, Franken S, Gehrke M, Junghans U, Gieselmann V, Kappler J. Subcellular localization of collapsin response mediator proteins to lipid rafts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003 May 30;305(2):392-9.

[7] Franken S, Junghans U, Rosslenbroich V, Baader SL, Hoffmann R, Gieselmann V, Viebahn C, Kappler J. Collapsin response mediator proteins of neonatal rat brain interact with chondroitin sulfate. J Biol Chem. 2003 Jan 31;278(5):3241-50.

[6] Dietz F, Franken S, Yoshida K, Nakamura H, Kappler J, Gieselmann V. Hepatoma-derived growth factor protein family: Characterization of a new member HRP-4 and classification of subfamilies. Biochem J. 2002 366: 491-500.

[5] Kappler J, Baader SL, Franken S, Pesheva P, Schilling K, Rauch U, Gieselmann V. Tenascins are associated with lipid rafts isolated from mouse brain. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2002 Jun 14;294(3):742-7.

[4] Junghans U, Franken S, Pommer A, Muller HW, Viebahn C, Kappler J. A monoclonal antibody against a neuron-specific 65-kDa protein with laminar expression in the developing cerebral cortex. Histochem Cell Biol. 2002 Apr;117(4):317-25.

[3] Lullmann-Rauch R, Matzner U, Franken S, Hartmann D, Gieselmann V. Lysosomal sulfoglycolipid storage in the kidneys of mice deficient for arylsulfatase A (ASA) and of double-knockout mice deficient for ASA and galactosylceramide synthase. Histochem Cell Biol. 2001 Aug;116(2):161-9.

[2] Arteel GE, Franken S, Kappler J, Sies H. Binding of selenoprotein P to heparin: characterization with surface plasmon resonance. Biol Chem. 2000 Mar;381(3):265-8.

[1] Kappler J, Franken S, Junghans U, Hoffmann R, Linke T, Muller HW, Koch KW. Glycosaminoglycan-binding properties and secondary structure of the C-terminus of netrin-1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2000 May 10;271(2):287-91.