Harvard Med Cell Biology
@harvardcellbio.bsky.social
Cell Bio@Harvard Med- dedicated to unraveling how the machines of the cell work. Specializing in membrane/organelles, ubiquitin & protein quality control, chromatin regulation, proteomics, metabolism, and sensory perception.https://cellbio.hms.harvard.edu/
Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Giant DNA viruses encode a hallmark translation initiation complex of eukaryotic life
In contrast to living organisms, viruses were long thought to lack protein synthesis machinery and instead depend on host factors to translate viral transcripts. Here, we discover that giant DNA virus...
www.biorxiv.org
October 2, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Historically, viruses were thought to primarily use host cell's translational machinery. New work from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty Amy Lee reveals that a giant DNA virus encodes its own IF4F initiation complex, suggesting an unexpected evolutionary innovation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
New work from the Moazed lab reveals the requirements for establishment & epigenetic stability of mammalian heterochromatin! www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Requirements for establishment and epigenetic stability of mammalian heterochromatin
Tatarakis et al. study how H3K9me3 heterochromatin is formed and inherited in mammalian
cells. Using a synthetic heterochromatin assembly system and genetic screens, they
uncover requirements for init...
www.cell.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
New work from the Moazed lab reveals the requirements for establishment & epigenetic stability of mammalian heterochromatin! www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
New work from our own Chouchani Lab finds that LRRC58 is the substrate adaptor of an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates proteasomal degradation of CDO1, the rate-limiting enzyme of the catabolic shunt of cysteine to taurine in response to altered Cysteine levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Covariation MS uncovers a protein that controls cysteine catabolism - Nature
A mass spectrometry-based approach globally identifies protein regulators of metabolism and reveals the role of LRRC58 in controlling cysteine catabolism.
www.nature.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
New work from our own Chouchani Lab finds that LRRC58 is the substrate adaptor of an E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates proteasomal degradation of CDO1, the rate-limiting enzyme of the catabolic shunt of cysteine to taurine in response to altered Cysteine levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Harvard Med Cell Biology
Why are α-synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s disease (PD) toxic at the cell biological level?
Our new study shows that α-syn fibrils hijack the ESCRT membrane repair system, triggering a feedback loop that worsens aggregation.
You can find it at: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Our new study shows that α-syn fibrils hijack the ESCRT membrane repair system, triggering a feedback loop that worsens aggregation.
You can find it at: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Why are α-synuclein aggregates in Parkinson’s disease (PD) toxic at the cell biological level?
Our new study shows that α-syn fibrils hijack the ESCRT membrane repair system, triggering a feedback loop that worsens aggregation.
You can find it at: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
Our new study shows that α-syn fibrils hijack the ESCRT membrane repair system, triggering a feedback loop that worsens aggregation.
You can find it at: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
New insights into transcriptional elongation by IWS1 from the @lucas.farnunglab.com lab. This work establishes IWS1 as a scaffold to organiz the elongation complex, illustrating how disordered regions regulate transcription elongationhttps://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.28.672863v1
Structure and function of IWS1 in transcription elongation
Transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II is a tightly regulated process that requires coordinated interactions between elongation factors. IWS1 (Interacts with SPT6) has been implicated as a core...
www.biorxiv.org
August 29, 2025 at 4:32 PM
New insights into transcriptional elongation by IWS1 from the @lucas.farnunglab.com lab. This work establishes IWS1 as a scaffold to organiz the elongation complex, illustrating how disordered regions regulate transcription elongationhttps://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.28.672863v1
New work from the @sshaolab.bsky.social lab with Gu and Elledge labs reveals structure of TXNL1 bound to proteasome and mechanism of its ubiquitin-independent degradation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structure of the TXNL1-bound proteasome - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Gao, Nardone et al. report the cryo-EM structure of human TXNL1 bound to the proteasome and reveal interactions required for the stress-induced degradation of TXNL1, an abundant protein that may regul...
www.nature.com
August 7, 2025 at 11:00 AM
New work from the @sshaolab.bsky.social lab with Gu and Elledge labs reveals structure of TXNL1 bound to proteasome and mechanism of its ubiquitin-independent degradation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thoughts from our own Tom Rapoport on the role of basic science in curing disease. magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/rev...
“Revolutionary Science Comes from Unexpected Angles”
magazine.hms.harvard.edu
July 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Thoughts from our own Tom Rapoport on the role of basic science in curing disease. magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/rev...
Impact of federal funding cuts on science, the progress of knowledge, and our future - an essay by our own Steve Liberles: magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/i-t...
“I Think the Entire Future of the United States Is at Stake”
https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/i-think-entire-future-united-states-stake?utm_source=OCERMarketingCloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=07.08.2025-HMNews&utm_content=‘I+Think+the+Entire+Future+of+the+United+States+Is+at+Risk’
July 8, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Impact of federal funding cuts on science, the progress of knowledge, and our future - an essay by our own Steve Liberles: magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/i-t...
Congratulations to our own David Pellman, who was elected as an Associate Member of EMBO 2025 - Well deserved! www.embo.org/press-releas...
Outstanding life scientists elected to the EMBO Membership – Press releases – EMBO
Sixty-nine new members join the community of leading life scientists in Europe and beyond
www.embo.org
July 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Congratulations to our own David Pellman, who was elected as an Associate Member of EMBO 2025 - Well deserved! www.embo.org/press-releas...
Work from our own Corey Allard allardlab.hms.harvard.edu & Nick Bellono reveals a process by which foreign chloroplasts (derived from algae food sources) are incorporated into novel, host-derived organelles termed “kleptosomes". \https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867425006373
A host organelle integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
Eukaryotic life evolved over a billion years ago when ancient cells engulfed and integrated prokaryotes to become modern mitochondria and chloroplasts…
www.sciencedirect.com
June 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Work from our own Corey Allard allardlab.hms.harvard.edu & Nick Bellono reveals a process by which foreign chloroplasts (derived from algae food sources) are incorporated into novel, host-derived organelles termed “kleptosomes". \https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867425006373
New work from @xingulab.bsky.social @sshaolab.bsky.social & Elledge lab report structure of Midnolin-proteasome complex & its role in controlling myeloma via ubiquitin-independent degradation. www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Structural basis for the midnolin-proteasome pathway and its role in suppressing myeloma
Nardone et al. elucidate the mechanism of the midnolin-proteasome pathway, showing
how midnolin achieves nuclear substrate selection and how established proteasomal
components are repurposed to enable...
www.cell.com
June 21, 2025 at 9:06 PM
New work from @xingulab.bsky.social @sshaolab.bsky.social & Elledge lab report structure of Midnolin-proteasome complex & its role in controlling myeloma via ubiquitin-independent degradation. www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Congratulations to our own Lucas Farnung @lucas.farnunglab.com who has been named as one of 30 Freeman Hrabowski Scholars for 2025 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). So well deserved deserved !! www.hhmi.org/programs/fre...
The 2025 Freeman Hrabowski Scholars | HHMI
Freeman Hrabowski Scholars are outstanding early career faculty who have the potential to become leaders in their research fields.
www.hhmi.org
June 18, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Congratulations to our own Lucas Farnung @lucas.farnunglab.com who has been named as one of 30 Freeman Hrabowski Scholars for 2025 by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). So well deserved deserved !! www.hhmi.org/programs/fre...
Chan Lee @harperlabhms.bsky.social reports CASM-driven V-ATPase recruitment to lysosomes for acidification upon TRPML1 activation via DMXL1-RAVE loader. With Magdalene Moran(Caraway), Sophie Helaine lab, Joao Paulo, & HarperLab teams(HMS). Funds: Warren Alpert FND/NIH www.nature.com/articles/s41...
DMXL1 promotes recruitment of V1-ATPase to lysosomes upon TRPML1 activation - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Lee et al. show that DMXL1, a regulator of V-ATPase assembly, is recruited to lysosomes upon TRPML1 activation in a manner dependent on conjugation of ATG8 proteins on lysosomal membranes (CASM) and p...
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Chan Lee @harperlabhms.bsky.social reports CASM-driven V-ATPase recruitment to lysosomes for acidification upon TRPML1 activation via DMXL1-RAVE loader. With Magdalene Moran(Caraway), Sophie Helaine lab, Joao Paulo, & HarperLab teams(HMS). Funds: Warren Alpert FND/NIH www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Questions and answers from our own Corey Allard allardlab.hms.harvard.edu on his labs quest to discover new biology and reveal conserved and fundamental principles that operate across biological systems and impact human health. hms.harvard.edu/news/fish-le...
hms.harvard.edu
June 3, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Questions and answers from our own Corey Allard allardlab.hms.harvard.edu on his labs quest to discover new biology and reveal conserved and fundamental principles that operate across biological systems and impact human health. hms.harvard.edu/news/fish-le...
New work @harvard by Miguel Gonzalez-Lozano @harperlabhms.bsky.social & @ernstschmid.bsky.social in Johannes Walter lab charts structural interactome of endosomes. #XL-MS #Alphafold Funded by @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org & NIH. Science continues-despite attacks www.nature.com/articles/s41...
EndoMAP.v1 charts the structural landscape of human early endosome complexes - Nature
A study presents EndoMAP.v1, a resource that combines information on protein interactions and crosslink-supported structural predictions to map the interaction landscape of early endosomes.
www.nature.com
May 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
New work @harvard by Miguel Gonzalez-Lozano @harperlabhms.bsky.social & @ernstschmid.bsky.social in Johannes Walter lab charts structural interactome of endosomes. #XL-MS #Alphafold Funded by @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org & NIH. Science continues-despite attacks www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Questions and answers from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty member Rachel Wolfson concerning her work on interoception and how our brain and gut communicate with each other. hms.harvard.edu/news/investi...
hms.harvard.edu
May 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Questions and answers from @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty member Rachel Wolfson concerning her work on interoception and how our brain and gut communicate with each other. hms.harvard.edu/news/investi...
New work from @lucas.farnunglab.com reveals multiple states of the CHD1 chromatin remodeler and mechanisms of remodeler recruitment!

🧬🎉Thrilled to share our new chromatin remodeling study! We reveal three states of human CHD1 and identify a novel "anchor element" that interacts with the acidic patch—conserved among remodelers. Our structures clarify mechanisms of remodeler recruitment! Link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l2ik3vVUP...
🧬🎉Thrilled to share our new chromatin remodeling study! We reveal three states of human CHD1 and identify a novel "anchor element" that interacts with the acidic patch—conserved among remodelers. Our structures clarify mechanisms of remodeler recruitment! Link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1l2ik3vVUP...
May 6, 2025 at 6:24 PM
New work from @lucas.farnunglab.com reveals multiple states of the CHD1 chromatin remodeler and mechanisms of remodeler recruitment!
CONGRATULATIONS!! to @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty member Tommy Kirchhausen for his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. So well deserved! www.amacad.org/new-members-...
April 23, 2025 at 7:38 PM
CONGRATULATIONS!! to @harvardcellbio.bsky.social faculty member Tommy Kirchhausen for his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. So well deserved! www.amacad.org/new-members-...
Another outstanding study by @sshaolab.bsky.social reveals the structures of prohibin and erlin assemblies. Could also be a hat, it seems.
Cup? Platter? Stained glass? Our imaginations were inspired (even during uncertain times!) by these beautiful molecular complexes: the Erlin and prohibitin complexes implicated in quality control at the ER and mitochondria, respectively. Check them out here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
April 23, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Another outstanding study by @sshaolab.bsky.social reveals the structures of prohibin and erlin assemblies. Could also be a hat, it seems.
In parallel with the updated Harvard website, there is also a new page on the Harvard Med website providing some of the important discoveries of our dedicated community, including the CellBio faculty and trainees. One can only ask “Why?” hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/hi...
Timeline of Discovery
1799Smallpox vaccineBenjamin Waterhouse introduces the smallpox vaccine to the United States and helps gain acceptance for the new procedure.1843Puerperal fever Oliver Wendell Holmes identifies the ca...
hms.harvard.edu
April 15, 2025 at 11:42 AM
In parallel with the updated Harvard website, there is also a new page on the Harvard Med website providing some of the important discoveries of our dedicated community, including the CellBio faculty and trainees. One can only ask “Why?” hms.harvard.edu/about-hms/hi...
Check out the updated Harvard University website, which speaks to the breadth and depth of the research we do and its contributions to human health and beyond: www.harvard.edu
Harvard University
Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.
www.harvard.edu
April 15, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Check out the updated Harvard University website, which speaks to the breadth and depth of the research we do and its contributions to human health and beyond: www.harvard.edu
We are so happy for our own Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas who today was the co-recipient of the Gairdner Award from his work on the Notch pathway! Congratulations!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6d...
2025 Canada Gairdner International Award Drs. Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, Iva Greenwald & Gary Struhl
YouTube video by CanadaGairdnerAwards
www.youtube.com
April 11, 2025 at 6:50 PM
We are so happy for our own Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas who today was the co-recipient of the Gairdner Award from his work on the Notch pathway! Congratulations!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA6d...
Reposted by Harvard Med Cell Biology
How do cells achieve an optimal mitochondrial distribution? Excited to share a piece of this puzzle: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
ARMC1 partitions between distinct complexes and assembles MIRO with MTFR to control mitochondrial distribution
ARMC1 partitions between distinct outer mitochondrial membrane complexes and the cytosol to control mitochondrial distribution.
www.science.org
April 10, 2025 at 2:49 PM
How do cells achieve an optimal mitochondrial distribution? Excited to share a piece of this puzzle: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ever wonder how the human replisome engages the nucleosome? New work from the @lucas.farnunglab.com provides a striking visual tour of the process with reconstituted components!
🔬 New from the Farnung Lab: We established a fully in vitro reconstituted chromatin replication system and report the first cryo-EM snapshots of the human replisome engaging nucleosomes. Brilliant work by @felixsteinruecke.bsky.social with support from @jonmarkert.bsky.social! tinyurl.com/replisome
April 7, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Ever wonder how the human replisome engages the nucleosome? New work from the @lucas.farnunglab.com provides a striking visual tour of the process with reconstituted components!
Exciting new work from the Shao lab @sshaolab.bsky.social by @samanthasedor.bsky.social reveals novel functions and interactions for the CDAN1 protein with ASF1A/B complexes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mechanism of ASF1 engagement by CDAN1
Nature Communications - CDAN1 is an essential protein with unclear function that binds the histone chaperone ASF1. Here, the authors reveal that CDAN1 sequesters multiple copies of ASF1 by engaging...
www.nature.com
March 17, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Exciting new work from the Shao lab @sshaolab.bsky.social by @samanthasedor.bsky.social reveals novel functions and interactions for the CDAN1 protein with ASF1A/B complexes. www.nature.com/articles/s41...