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Maja Köhn
© Bernadett Yehdou / Uni Bonn
Prof. Dr. Maja Köhn

Affiliations
  • Institut für Zellbiologie
Research topics
  • cell biology
  • chemical biology
  • phosphatases
Within intracellular signaling networks, protein phosphatases contribute to reversible changes in the phosphorylation levels of proteins, playing crucial roles in health and disease. Chemical tools enable investigating the functions and regulation of phosphatases and their contribution to signaling networks. One of our research areas is to develop chemical tools that can be used to address phosphatase function in basic research and, in the long run, therapeutically. Furthermore, we investigate biochemical mechanisms and biological roles, pathways and substrates of certain phosphatases using biochemical and molecular cell biological methods. To aid phosphatase studies, we also established and maintain an open access database dedicated to human phosphatases (www.depod.org).
Selected publications

Hoermann B, Dürr EM, Ludwig C, Ercan M, Köhn M. (2024) A strategy to disentangle direct and indirect effects on (de)phosphorylation by chemical modulators of the phosphatase PP1 in complex cellular contexts. Chem Sci. 15(8):2792-2804.

Rubio T, Weyershaeuser J, Montero MG, Hoffmann A, Lujan P, Jechlinger M, Sotillo R, Köhn M. (2021) The phosphatase PRL-3 affects intestinal homeostasis by altering the crypt cell composition. J Mol Med (Berl). 99(10):1413-1426.

Hoermann B, Kokot T, Helm D, Heinzlmeir S, Chojnacki JE, Schubert T, Ludwig C, Berteotti A, Kurzawa N, Kuster B, Savitski MM, Köhn M. (2020) Dissecting the sequence determinants for dephosphorylation by the catalytic subunits of phosphatases PP1 and PP2A. Nat Commun. 11(1):3583.

Marasco M, Berteotti A, Weyershaeuser J, Thorausch N, Sikorska J, Krausze J, Brandt HJ, Kirkpatrick J, Rios P, Schamel WW, Köhn M*, Carlomagno T*. (2020) Molecular mechanism of SHP2 activation by PD-1 stimulation. Sci Adv. 6(5):eaay4458.

Maja Köhn
© Bernadett Yehdou / Uni Bonn
Prof. Dr. Maja Köhn

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