Regenerative Biomedicine
Centre of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology
Albert-Schweitzer-Campus 1, Geb. D11
48149 Münster, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)251 83-58238
E-Mail  Prof. Dr. Timo Strünker
ResearchGate

• Scientific career

  since 2015	Professor at the Center of Reproductive Medicine and Andrology (CeRA), Münster
  2008-2015	Group Leader Research Center Caesar (Bonn), an Associate of the Max Planck Society
  2006-2008	Lab Head with Grünenthal GmbH, Germany
  2005-2006	Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Research Center Jülich, Germany
  2002-2005	PhD at the Research Center Juelich, Germany (PhD in Biochemistry, University of Cologne)
  1997-2002	Studies of Biology (Diplom-Biologe) at the University of Cologne

• Publications

  Young, S.*, Schiffer, C.*, Wagner, A., Patz, J., Potapenko, A., Herrmann, L., Nordhoff, V., Pock, T., Krallmann, C., Stallmeyer, B., Röpke, A., Kierzek, M., Biagioni, C., Wang, T., Haalck, L., Deuster, D., Hansen, J. N., Wachten, D., Risse, B., Behre, H. M., Schlatt, S., Kliesch, S., Tüttelmann, F., Brenker, C., Strünker, T. (2023) "Unexplained infertility is frequently caused by defective CatSper function preventing sperm from penetrating the egg coat" MedRxiv 2023.03.23.23286813, doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.23.23286813

  Schneider, S., Kovacevic, A., Mayer, M, Dicke, A. K., Arévalo, L., Koser, S. A., Hansen, J. N., Young, S., Brenker, C., Kliesch, S., Wachten, D., Kirfel, G., Strünker, T., Tüttelmann, F., Schorle, H., (2023) "Cylicins are a structural component of the sperm calyx being indispensable for male fertility in mice and human" Elife; reviewed preprint doi.org/10.7554/eLife.86100.1

  Lange T, Depmeier T, Strünker T, Lehr M. (2023) "HPLC fluorescence assay for measuring the activity of NAPE-PLD and the action of inhibitors affecting this enzyme" J Pharm Biomed Anal. 2023 Mar 22;229:115354. doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2023.115354

  Aprea I, Wilken A, Krallmann C, Nöthe-Menchen T, Olbrich H, Loges NT, Dougherty GW, Bracht D, Brenker C, Kliesch S, Strünker T, Tüttelmann F, Raidt J, Omran H. (2023) "Pathogenic gene variants in CCDC39, CCDC40, RSPH1, RSPH9, HYDIN, and SPEF2 cause defects of sperm flagella composition and male infertility" Front Genet. 2023 Feb 17;14:1117821. doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2023.1117821. eCollection 2023. PMID: 36873931

  Dellin M, Rohrbeck I, Asrani P, Schreiber JA, Ritter N, Glorius F, Wünsch B, Budde T, Temme L, Strünker T, Stallmeyer B, Tüttelmann F, Meuth SG, Spehr M, Matschke J, Steinbicker A, Gatsogiannis C, Stoll R, Strutz-Seebohm N, Seebohm G. (2023) "The second PI(3,5)P2 binding site in the S0 helix of KCNQ1 stabilizes PIP2-at the primary PI1 site with potential consequences on intermediate-to-open state transition" Biol Chem. 2023 Feb 23;404(4):241-254. doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2022-0247. PMID: 36809224

  Schierling T, Tosi B, Eisenhardt C, Reining S, Daniliuc CG, Brenker C, Strünker T, Wünsch B. (2022) "Synthesis and Functional Characterization of Novel RU1968-Derived CatSper Inhibitors with Reduced Stereochemical Complexity" ACS Pharmacol Transl Sci. 2022 Dec 2;6(1):115-127. doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.2c00188. eCollection 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36654752

  Aprea I, Nöthe-Menchen T, Dougherty GW, Raidt J, Loges NT, Kaiser T, Wallmeier J, Olbrich H, Strünker T, Kliesch S, Pennekamp P, Omran H. (2021) "Motility of efferent duct cilia aids passage of sperm cells through the male reproductive system. " Mol Hum Reprod. 2021 Feb 27;27(3):gaab009. doi.org/10.1093/molehr/gaab009

  Jeschke JK, Biagioni C, Schierling T, Wagner IV, Börgel F, Schepmann D, Schüring A, Kulle AE, Holterhus PM, von Wolff M, Wünsch B, Nordhoff V, Strünker T, Brenker C. (2021) "The Action of Reproductive Fluids and Contained Steroids, Prostaglandins, and Zn2+ on CatSper Ca2+ Channels in Human Sperm." Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jul 26;9:699554. doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.699554.

  Kierzek M, Deal PE, Miller EW, Mukherjee S, Wachten D, Baumann A, Kaupp UB, Strünker T, Brenker C. (2021) "Simultaneous recording of multiple cellular signaling events by frequency- and spectrally-tuned multiplexing of fluorescent probes." Elife 2021 Dec 3;10:e63129. doi.org/10.7554/eLife.63129.

  Rahban, R., Rehfeld, A., Schiffer, C., Brenker, C., Egberg Palme, D., Wang, T., Lorenz, J., Almstrup, K., Skakkebaek, N., Strünker, T., Nef, S. (2021) "The antidepressant Sertraline inhibits CatSper Ca2+ channels in human sperm" Human Reproduction, doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deab190

  Dougherty GW, Mizuno K, Nöthe-Menchen T, Ikawa Y, Boldt K, Ta-Shma A, Aprea I, Minegishi K, Pang YP, Pennekamp P, Loges NT, Raidt J, Hjeij R, Wallmeier J, Mussaffi H, Perles Z, Elpeleg O, Rabert F, Shiratori H, Letteboer SJ, Horn N, Young S, Strünker T, Stumme F, Werner C, Olbrich H, Takaoka K, Ide T, Twan WK, Biebach L, Große-Onnebrink J, Klinkenbusch JA, Praveen K, Bracht DC, Höben IM, Junger K, Gützlaff J, Cindrić S, Aviram M, Kaiser T, Memari Y, Dzeja PP, Dworniczak B, Ueffing M, Roepman R, Bartscherer K, Katsanis N, Davis EE, Amirav I, Hamada H, Omran H. (2020) "CFAP45 deficiency causes situs abnormalities and asthenospermia by disrupting an axonemal adenine nucleotide homeostasis module." Nature Communications. 2020 Nov 2;11(1):5520. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19113-0.

  Balbach, M., Hamzeh, H., Jikeli, J. F., Brenker, C., Schiffer, C., Hansen, J. N., Neugebauer, P., Trötschel, C., Jovine, L., Han, L., Florman, H. M., Kaupp, U. B., Strünker, T., & Wachten, D. (2020) "Molecular Mechanism Underlying the Action of Zona-pellucida Glycoproteins on Mouse Sperm." Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8, 1–15. doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.572735

  Wang, T., Young, S., Krenz, H., Tüttelmann, F., Röpke, A., Krallmann, C., Kliesch, S., Zeng, X., Brenker, C., & Strünker, T. (2020) "The Ca2+ channel CatSper is not activated by cAMP/PKA signaling but directly affected by chemicals used to probe the action of cAMP and PKA." Journal of Biological Chemistry. doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA120.013218

  Bollmann E, Schreiber JA, Ritter N, Peischard S, Ho HT, Wünsch B, Strünker T, Meuth S, Budde T, Strutz-Seebohm N, Seebohm G. (2020) "4,4'-Diisothiocyanato-2,2'-Stilbenedisulfonic Acid (DIDS) Modulates the Activity of KCNQ1/KCNE1 Channels by an Interaction with the Central Pore Region." Cell Physiol Biochem. 2020 Apr 8; 54(2):321332. doi.org/10.33594/000000222

  Schiffer C, Rieger S, Brenker C, Young S, Hamzeh H, Wachten D, Tüttelmann F, Röpke A, Kaupp UB, Wang T, Wagner A, Krallmann C, Kliesch S, Fallnich C, Strünker T. (2020) "Rotational motion and rheotaxis of human sperm do not require functional CatSper channels and transmembrane Ca2+ signaling." EMBO J. (2020) Jan 39:e102363. doi.org/10.15252/embj.2019102363.

  Trötschel C, Hamzeh H, Alvarez L, Pascal R, Lavryk F, Bönigk W, Körschen HG, Müller A, Poetsch A, Rennhack A, Gui L, Nicastro D, Strünker T, Seifert R, Kaupp UB (2019) "Absolute proteomic quantification reveals design principles of sperm flagellar chemosensation." EMBO J. (2019) Dec 27:e102723. doi.org/10.15252/embj.2019102723.

  Raju DN, Hansen JN, Rassmann S, Stüven B, Jikeli JF, Strünker T, Körschen HG, Möglich A, Wachten D. (2019) "Cyclic Nucleotide-Specific Optogenetics Highlights Compartmentalization of the Sperm Flagellum into cAMP Microdomains." Cells. 27;8(7). doi.org/10.3390/cells8070648.

  Lim S, Kierzek M, O'Connor AE, Brenker C, Merriner DJ, Okuda H, Volpert M, Gaikwad A, Bianco D, Potter D, Prabhakar R, Strünker T, O'Bryan MK. (2019) “CRISP2 Is a Regulator of Multiple Aspects of Sperm Function and Male Fertility.” Endocrinology. 160(4):915-924. doi.org/10.1210/en.2018-01076.

  Amedonu E, Brenker C, Barman S, Schreiber JA, Becker S, Peischard S, Strutz-Seebohm N, Strippel C, Dik A, Hartung HP, Budde T, Wiendl H, Strünker T, Wünsch B, Goebels N, Meuth SG, Seebohm G, Melzer N. (2019) “An Assay to Determine Mechanisms of Rapid Autoantibody-Induced Neurotransmitter Receptor Endocytosis and Vesicular Trafficking in Autoimmune Encephalitis.” Front Neurol. 10:178. doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2019.00178.

  Hamzeh H, Alvarez L, Strünker T, Kierzek M, Brenker C, Deal PE, Miller EW, Seifert R, Kaupp UB. (2019) “Kinetic and photonic techniques to study chemotactic signaling in sea urchin sperm.” Methods Cell Biol. 151:487-517. doi.org/10.1016/bs.mcb.2018.12.001.

  Brenker C, Rehfeld A, Schiffer C, Kierzek M, Kaupp UB, Skakkebæk NE, Strünker T (2018) "Synergistic activation of CatSper Ca2+ channels in human sperm by oviductal ligands and endocrine disrupting chemicals." Hum Reprod. 2018 Sep 5. doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey275.

  Windler F, Bönigk W, Körschen HG, Grahn E, Strünker T, Seifert R, Kaupp UB (2018). "The solute carrier SLC9C1 is a Na+/H+-exchanger gated by an S4-type voltage-sensor and cyclic-nucleotide binding." Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 18;9(1):2809. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05253-x

  Rennhack A, Schiffer C, Brenker C, Fridman D, Nitao ET, Cheng YM, Tamburrino L, Balbach M, Stölting G, Berger TK, Kierzek M, Alvarez L, Wachten D, Zeng XH, Baldi E, Publicover S, Kaupp UB, Strünker T (2018). "A novel cross-species inhibitor to study the function of CatSper Ca2+ channels in sperm." Br J Pharmacol. 2018 May 3. doi.org/10.1111/bph.14355

  Brenker, C.* & Schiffer, C.*, Wagner I.V., Tüttelmann, F., Röpke, A., Rennhack, A., Kaupp, U.B., Strünker, T. (2018) "Action of steroids and plant triterpenoids on CatSper Ca2+ channels in human sperm." PNAS 115, E344-E346. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717929115 *Equal contribution.

  Matschke V, Piccini I, Schubert J, Wrobel E, Lang F, Matschke J, Amedonu E, Meuth SG, Strünker T, Strutz-Seebohm N, Greber B, Scherkenbeck J & Seebohm G. (2017) "The Natural Plant Product Rottlerin Activates Kv7.1/KCNE1 Channels" Cell Physiol Biochem. 40(6), 1549-1558 doi.org/10.1159/000453205

  Berger TK, Fußhöller DM, Goodwin N, Bönigk W, Müller A, Dokani Khesroshahi N, Brenker C, Wachten D, Krause E, Kaupp UB & Strünker T. (2016) "Post-translational cleavage of Hv1 in human sperm tunes pH- and voltage-dependent gating" J Physiol. doi.org/10.1113/JP273189

  Kaupp UB & Strünker T. (2016) "Signaling in Sperm: More Different than Similar" Trends Cell Biol. 27(2), 101-109. doi.org10.1016/j.tcb.2016.10.002

  Mukherjee S, Jansen V, Jikeli JF, Hamzeh H, Alvarez L, Dombrowski M, Balbach M, Strünker T, Seifert R, Kaupp UB, Wachten D. (2016) "A novel biosensor to study cAMP dynamics in cilia and flagella" eLife 5, e14052 doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14052

  Strünker T., Alvarez, L. & Kaupp, U.B. (2015) "At the physical limit - chemosensation in sperm" Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 34, 110-116 doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2015.02.007

  Strünker T., & Kaupp, U.B. (2015) "Larry Cohen-50 ways to DYE your science" Neurophotonics 2, 021004-021004 doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.2.2.021004

  Jansen, V., Alvarez, L., Balbach, M., Strünker T., Hegemann, P., Kaupp, U.B. & Wachten, D. (2015) "Controlling fertilization and cAMP signaling in sperm by optogenetics" eLife 4, e05161 doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05161

  Seifert, R., Flick, M., Bönigk, W., Alvarez, L., Trötschel, C., Poetsch, A., Müller, A., Goodwin, N., Pelzer, P., Kashikar, N.D., Kremmer, E., Jikeli, J., Timmermann, B., Kuhl, H., Fridman, D., Windler, F., Kaupp, U.B. & Strünker T. (2015) "The CatSper channel controls chemosensation in sea urchin sperm" EMBO J. 34, 379-392 doi.org/10.15252/embj.201489376

  Pichlo, M., Bungert-Plümke, S., Weyand, I., Seifert, R., Bönigk, W., Strünker, T., Kashikar, N.D., Goodwin, N., Müller, A., Pelzer, P., Van, Q., Enderlein, J., Klemm, C., Krause, E., Trotschel, C., Poetsch, A., Kremmer, E. & Kaupp, U.B. (2014) "High density and ligand affinity confer ultrasensitive signal detection by a guanylyl cyclase chemoreceptor" J. Cell. Biol. 206, 541-557 doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201402027

  Schiffer, C., Müller, A., Egeberg, D.L., Alvarez, L., Brenker, C., Rehfeld, A., Frederiksen, H., Wäschle, B., Kaupp, U.B., Balbach, M., Wachten, D., Skakkebaek, N.E., Almstrup, K. & Strünker T. (2014) "Direct action of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human sperm" EMBO Rep., doi.org/10.15252/embr.201438869

  Brenker, C., Zhou, Y., Muller, A., Echeverry, F.A., Trotschel, C., Poetsch, A., Xia, X.M., Bönigk, W., Lingle, C.J., Kaupp, U.B. & Strünker, T. (2014) "The Ca2+-activated K+ current of human sperm is mediated by Slo3" eLife 3, doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01438

  Krähling, M., Alvarez, L., Debowski, K., Van, Q., Gunkel, M., Irsen, S., Al-Amoudi, A., Strünker, T., Kremmer, E., Krause, E., Voigt, I., Wörtge, S., Waisman, A., Weyand, I., Seifert, R., Kaupp, U.B. & Wachten, D. (2013) "CRIS- a novel cAMP-binding protein controlling spermiogenesis and the development of flagellar bending" PLoS Genetics, doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1003960

  Brenker, C., Goodwin, N., Weyand, I., Kashikar, N. D., Naruse, M., Krahling, M., Muller, A., Kaupp, U. B. & Strünker, T. (2012) "The CatSper channel: a polymodal chemosensor in human sperm" EMBO J.31, 1654-1665 doi.org/10.1038/emboj.2012.30

  Strünker, T. (2012) "A unique K+-selective ion channel activated by a single cGMP molecule controls chemotaxis of sea urchin sperm" In: Morisawa, M. (ed.): Sperm Cell Research in the 21st Century: Historical Discoveries to New Horizons (Tokyo: Adthree Publishing Co.m Ltd), 142-145

  Strünker, T., Goodwin, N., Brenker, C., Kashikar, N.D., Weyand, I., Seifert, R. & Kaupp, U.B. (2011) "The CatSper channel mediates progesterone-induced Ca2+ influx in human sperm" Nature 471, 382-386 doi.org/10.1038/nature09769

  Bönigk, W., Loogen, A., Seifert, R., Kashikar, N., Klemm, C., Krause, E., Hagen, V., Kremmer, E., Strünker, T., & Kaupp, U.B. (2009) "An atypical CNG channel activated by a single cGMP molecule controls sperm chemotaxis" Science Signal. 2, doi.org/10.1126/scisignal.2000516

  Schröder-Lang, S., Schwärzel, M., Seifert, R., Strünker, T., Kateriya, S., Looser, J., Watanabe, M., Kaupp, U.B., Hegemann, P. & Nagel, G. (2007) "Fast manipulation of cellular cAMP level by light in vivo" Nature Methods 4, 39-42 doi.org/10.1038/nmeth975

  Strünker, T., Weyand, I., Bönigk, W., Van, Q., Loogen, A., Brown, J.E., Kashikar, N., Hagen, V., Krause, E. & Kaupp, U.B. (2006) "A K+-selective cGMP-gated ion channel controls chemosensation of sperm" Nature Cell Biology 8, 1149-1154 doi.org/10.1038/ncb1473

  Balfanz, S.*, Strünker, T.*, Frings, S. & Baumann, A. (2005) "A family of octopamine receptors that specially induce cyclic AMP production or Ca2+ release in Drosophila melanogaster" J. Neurochem. 93, 440-451 doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2005.03034.x

  Grohmann, L., Blenau, W., Erber, J., Strünker, T., & Baumann, A. (2003) "Molecular and functional characterization of an octopamine receptor from honeybee (Apis mellifera) brain" J. Neurochem. 86, 725-735 doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-4159.2003.01876.x

  *contributed equally