John Riches
@richeslab.bsky.social
Clinical Reader and Consultant Haemato-oncologist at Barts Cancer Institute/Barts Hospital
Specialist interest in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and lymphoma with a particular focus on cancer and immuno-metabolism
Specialist interest in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and lymphoma with a particular focus on cancer and immuno-metabolism
Reposted by John Riches
Today, on #WorldCancerDay, we’re taking you behind the scenes at Queen Mary's Barts Cancer Institute and introducing you to the people who are making progress possible.
Follow us to stay up to date with new developments.
🧪 #UnitedByUnique #MedSky #OncoSky @qmul.bsky.social @cancerresearchuk.org
Follow us to stay up to date with new developments.
🧪 #UnitedByUnique #MedSky #OncoSky @qmul.bsky.social @cancerresearchuk.org
Driving discoveries for tomorrow's cancer care at Barts Cancer Institute
YouTube video by BCIQMUL
youtu.be
February 4, 2026 at 8:28 AM
Today, on #WorldCancerDay, we’re taking you behind the scenes at Queen Mary's Barts Cancer Institute and introducing you to the people who are making progress possible.
Follow us to stay up to date with new developments.
🧪 #UnitedByUnique #MedSky #OncoSky @qmul.bsky.social @cancerresearchuk.org
Follow us to stay up to date with new developments.
🧪 #UnitedByUnique #MedSky #OncoSky @qmul.bsky.social @cancerresearchuk.org
This week's top paper is by Kimberley Huggler and Jason Cantor and team who show that hexokinase (HK) 2-dependence of cancer cells in HPLM is due to the subcellular distribution of HK1, with cytosolic HK supporting the Warburg effect. Great work! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Hexokinase detachment from mitochondria drives the Warburg effect to support compartmentalized ATP production - Nature Metabolism
Hexokinase detachment from the outer mitochondrial membrane is shown to support aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. Differential localization of the HK1 isoform to the outer mitochondrial membrane, co...
www.nature.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:26 PM
This week's top paper is by Kimberley Huggler and Jason Cantor and team who show that hexokinase (HK) 2-dependence of cancer cells in HPLM is due to the subcellular distribution of HK1, with cytosolic HK supporting the Warburg effect. Great work! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
This week's recommended read is by Jian Gu and LIng Lu and team who show that tumour-derived ammonia drives Treg-specific enrichment. Tregs detoxify ammonia via the urea cycle and spermine synthesis, boosting Tregs to drive resistance. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Redirecting
doi.org
January 23, 2026 at 4:23 PM
This week's recommended read is by Jian Gu and LIng Lu and team who show that tumour-derived ammonia drives Treg-specific enrichment. Tregs detoxify ammonia via the urea cycle and spermine synthesis, boosting Tregs to drive resistance. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
This week's recommended read is by Amaia Zabala-Letona, Arkaitz Carracedo and team who have shown that polyamines (spermidine & spermine) regulate alternative splicing by binding to splicing factors to prevent the action of upstream kinases. Great work! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Polyamine-dependent metabolic shielding regulates alternative splicing - Nature
Polyamines prevent the action of kinases on acidic phosphorylatable motifs in spliceosomal proteins, thus providing a mechanism for metabolite-mediated regulation of alternative splicing in cells.
www.nature.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:23 PM
This week's recommended read is by Amaia Zabala-Letona, Arkaitz Carracedo and team who have shown that polyamines (spermidine & spermine) regulate alternative splicing by binding to splicing factors to prevent the action of upstream kinases. Great work! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Happy New Year All! My first recommended read for 2026 is by Yaqui Wang, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti and team who identify a new lytic cell death pathway, mitoxyperilysis, triggered by the synergy of innate immune activation and metabolic stress. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Redirecting
doi.org
January 9, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Happy New Year All! My first recommended read for 2026 is by Yaqui Wang, Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti and team who identify a new lytic cell death pathway, mitoxyperilysis, triggered by the synergy of innate immune activation and metabolic stress. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
So this week's recommended paper is not about cancer metabolism - but a study reporting the effects of space travel on human biology is always a great read! Well done to Jessica Pham, Catrina Jamieson and team! doi.org/10.1016/j.st...
Redirecting
doi.org
December 19, 2025 at 8:44 PM
So this week's recommended paper is not about cancer metabolism - but a study reporting the effects of space travel on human biology is always a great read! Well done to Jessica Pham, Catrina Jamieson and team! doi.org/10.1016/j.st...
This weeks highly recommended read is by Yaqiu Wang, Thirumala-Devi Kannaganti and colleagues who describe mitoxyperilysis - a distinct form of lytic cell death induced by innate immune signaling and metabolic disruption. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Innate immune and metabolic signals induce mitochondria-dependent membrane lysis via mitoxyperiosis
Wang et al. identify a new lytic cell death pathway, mitoxyperilysis, triggered by
the synergy of innate immune activation and metabolic stress. This process is regulated
by mTORC2 and involves persis...
www.cell.com
December 12, 2025 at 11:18 AM
This weeks highly recommended read is by Yaqiu Wang, Thirumala-Devi Kannaganti and colleagues who describe mitoxyperilysis - a distinct form of lytic cell death induced by innate immune signaling and metabolic disruption. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
This week's paper is by Yajing Gao, Peter Tontonoz and team who show that the lipid transporter Aster-A limits excess accumulation of cholesterol in the membrane of Th17 cells dampening TCR-signalling to guard against excessive Th17-cell responses. www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
T cell cholesterol transport links intestinal immune responses to dietary lipid absorption
The intrinsic pathways that control membrane organization in immune cells and their impact on cellular functions are poorly defined. We found that the nonvesicular cholesterol transporter Aster-A link...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 12:06 PM
This week's paper is by Yajing Gao, Peter Tontonoz and team who show that the lipid transporter Aster-A limits excess accumulation of cholesterol in the membrane of Th17 cells dampening TCR-signalling to guard against excessive Th17-cell responses. www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
This week's recommended read is by Cai-Yang Wu and Dong-Ming Kuang and team who show that despite suppressing primary tumour growth, glucose deprivation promotes lung metastasis by depleting natural killer cells via lung macrophages. Read more at:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Glucose restriction shapes pre-metastatic innate immune landscapes in the lung through exosomal TRAIL
While targeting glucose metabolism shows potential in cancer therapy, its clinical
implications remain unclear. This study finds that low-carbohydrate diets or impaired
glucose metabolism in cancer ce...
www.cell.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This week's recommended read is by Cai-Yang Wu and Dong-Ming Kuang and team who show that despite suppressing primary tumour growth, glucose deprivation promotes lung metastasis by depleting natural killer cells via lung macrophages. Read more at:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
This week's recommended metabolism read is by Qiaocho Li, Thorsten Hoppe and team who show that leucine suppresses degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to enhance respiration - defects in leucine catabolism promote lung cancer resistance. www.nature.com/articles/s41556-025-01799-3
Leucine inhibits degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to adapt mitochondrial respiration - Nature Cell Biology
Li et al. uncover a connection between metabolic cues and mitochondrial protein degradation, showing that specifically leucine stabilizes outer mitochondrial membrane proteins by inhibiting ubiquityla...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:56 AM
This week's recommended metabolism read is by Qiaocho Li, Thorsten Hoppe and team who show that leucine suppresses degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to enhance respiration - defects in leucine catabolism promote lung cancer resistance. www.nature.com/articles/s41556-025-01799-3
My fav paper this week is by Akiko Ogawa and Fan-Yan Wei and team who report that toxic RNA catabolites are detoxified by the sequential action of ADK and ADAL - disruption of this pathway leads to AMPK inhibition and metabolic dysfunction. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
Redirecting
doi.org
November 7, 2025 at 6:04 PM
My fav paper this week is by Akiko Ogawa and Fan-Yan Wei and team who report that toxic RNA catabolites are detoxified by the sequential action of ADK and ADAL - disruption of this pathway leads to AMPK inhibition and metabolic dysfunction. Great work! doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
The 2025 British Society for Haematology Guideline for the treatment of CLL is out. A big thank you to everyone involved - particularly Renata and Piers! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
2025 British Society for Haematology Guideline for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Click on the article title to read more.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The 2025 British Society for Haematology Guideline for the treatment of CLL is out. A big thank you to everyone involved - particularly Renata and Piers! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
This weeks paper is by Joey Li and Timothy O'Sullivan and team who show that while activated murine NK cells can perform de novo serine synthesis, human NKs can't - highlighting a species-specific sensitivity to environmental serine availability. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Species-specific serine metabolism differentially controls natural killer cell functions - Nature Metabolism
Li et al. characterize overlapping and divergent metabolic requirements of human and murine NK cells in response to activation, with a focus on serine metabolism
www.nature.com
September 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
This weeks paper is by Joey Li and Timothy O'Sullivan and team who show that while activated murine NK cells can perform de novo serine synthesis, human NKs can't - highlighting a species-specific sensitivity to environmental serine availability. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
This week my paper of choice is by Faith Kaluba and Evan Lien and team who show that beta-hydroxybutyrate can be used by cancer cells to generate cytosolic acetyl-CoA via a non-canonical route that avoids oxidation in the mitochondria. Great work! doi.org/10.1038/s422...
An alternative route for β-hydroxybutyrate metabolism supports cytosolic acetyl-CoA synthesis in cancer cells - Nature Metabolism
Kaluba, Rogers et al. show that in cancer cells that can metabolize ketones, they may reroute them to produce cytosolic acetyl-CoA and support tumour growth.
doi.org
September 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This week my paper of choice is by Faith Kaluba and Evan Lien and team who show that beta-hydroxybutyrate can be used by cancer cells to generate cytosolic acetyl-CoA via a non-canonical route that avoids oxidation in the mitochondria. Great work! doi.org/10.1038/s422...
This week my recommended read is a great paper by Andrew Scott and Daniel Wahl and team who show that glioblastomas prioritise serine uptake to support nucleotide synthesis making them sensitive to dietary serine-glycine restriction: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rewiring of cortical glucose metabolism fuels human brain cancer growth - Nature
The cortex fuels essential physiological processes with glucose-derived carbon, while gliomas fuel their aggressiveness by rerouting glucose carbon pathways and scavenging alternative carbon sources s...
www.nature.com
September 5, 2025 at 2:25 PM
This week my recommended read is a great paper by Andrew Scott and Daniel Wahl and team who show that glioblastomas prioritise serine uptake to support nucleotide synthesis making them sensitive to dietary serine-glycine restriction: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We're hiring! We're recruiting a post-doc to join my lab at Barts Cancer Institute in London investigating amino acid metabolism in lymphoma biology. Apply here: qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
Postdoctoral Research Associate - QMUL Jobs
ID: 7057. Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate . Application Deadline:
qmul-jobs.tal.net
September 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
We're hiring! We're recruiting a post-doc to join my lab at Barts Cancer Institute in London investigating amino acid metabolism in lymphoma biology. Apply here: qmul-jobs.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
This week my top (cancer) metabolism paper is by Max Valenstein and Kacper Rogala and colleagues who describe the structural basis for the regulation of mTORC1 by leucine and arginine. Outstanding work! doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Structural basis for the dynamic regulation of mTORC1 by amino acids - Nature
Using cryo-electron microscopy, the interactions of Sestrin2 and CASTOR1 with GATOR2 were resolved, revealing how mTORC1 activation is regulated and how nutrient availability triggers signalling for c...
doi.org
August 22, 2025 at 2:59 PM
This week my top (cancer) metabolism paper is by Max Valenstein and Kacper Rogala and colleagues who describe the structural basis for the regulation of mTORC1 by leucine and arginine. Outstanding work! doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by John Riches
Mitochondria protect against an intracellular pathogen by restricting access to folate | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Mitochondria protect against an intracellular pathogen by restricting access to folate
As major consumers of cellular metabolites, mitochondria are poised to compete with invading microbes for the nutrients that they need to grow. Whether cells exploit mitochondrial metabolism to protec...
www.science.org
August 15, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Mitochondria protect against an intracellular pathogen by restricting access to folate | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by John Riches
d-cysteine impairs tumour growth by inhibiting cysteine desulfurase NFS1
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
d-cysteine impairs tumour growth by inhibiting cysteine desulfurase NFS1 - Nature Metabolism
Zangari et al. show that d-cysteine targets NFS1, thus affecting Fe–S cluster biogenesis and impairing tumour growth.
www.nature.com
August 15, 2025 at 10:02 AM
d-cysteine impairs tumour growth by inhibiting cysteine desulfurase NFS1
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
This week's paper is some great work by Ting Zhoa and David Scadden who show that derepressing nuclear pyruvate dehydrogenase by blocking its interaction with the nuclear protein ELMSAN1 induces therapeutic cancer cell reprogramming: www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Derepressing nuclear pyruvate dehydrogenase induces therapeutic cancer cell reprogramming
Zhao et al. uncovered a nuclear-restricted acetyl-CoA regulatory mechanism where nucleus-localized
pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (nPDC) is constitutively bound and repressed by nuclear
protein ELMSAN...
www.cell.com
August 15, 2025 at 11:36 AM
This week's paper is some great work by Ting Zhoa and David Scadden who show that derepressing nuclear pyruvate dehydrogenase by blocking its interaction with the nuclear protein ELMSAN1 induces therapeutic cancer cell reprogramming: www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
Very pleased to report that the results of our blood cancer breath testing study have been published in @Hemasphere_EHA www.bci.qmul.ac.uk/general-news...
A massive thank you to everyone involved - particularly the patients and healthy volunteers!
A massive thank you to everyone involved - particularly the patients and healthy volunteers!
Could a breath test detect blood cancer? - Barts Cancer Institute - Queen Mary University of London
Molecules exhaled in the breath may provide clues to detect blood cancer, according to new research by scientists at Barts Cancer Institute. The findings could enable the development of a blood cancer...
www.bci.qmul.ac.uk
July 23, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Very pleased to report that the results of our blood cancer breath testing study have been published in @Hemasphere_EHA www.bci.qmul.ac.uk/general-news...
A massive thank you to everyone involved - particularly the patients and healthy volunteers!
A massive thank you to everyone involved - particularly the patients and healthy volunteers!
Reposted by John Riches
📰Could a breath test detect blood cancer? New research from @richeslab.bsky.social funded by @bartscharity.bsky.social suggests molecules exhaled in the breath might enable development of a simple, low-cost test to diagnose lymphoma.
@qmul.bsky.social @qmulfmd.bsky.social #medsky #oncosky 🧪
@qmul.bsky.social @qmulfmd.bsky.social #medsky #oncosky 🧪
Could a breath test detect blood cancer? - Barts Cancer Institute - Queen Mary University of London
Molecules exhaled in the breath may provide clues to detect blood cancer, according to new research by scientists at Barts Cancer Institute. The findings could enable the development of a blood cancer...
www.bci.qmul.ac.uk
July 23, 2025 at 10:11 AM
📰Could a breath test detect blood cancer? New research from @richeslab.bsky.social funded by @bartscharity.bsky.social suggests molecules exhaled in the breath might enable development of a simple, low-cost test to diagnose lymphoma.
@qmul.bsky.social @qmulfmd.bsky.social #medsky #oncosky 🧪
@qmul.bsky.social @qmulfmd.bsky.social #medsky #oncosky 🧪
Reposted by John Riches
Please have a look at our commentary on a recent cool paper from @lukeanthonyoneill.bsky.social lab:
journals.lww.com/immunometabo...
journals.lww.com/immunometabo...
Macrophage respiratory complex III governs immune evasion : Immunometabolism
th important implications for the pathophysiology of inflammatory diseases and cancer. A recent study by Zotta and colleagues provides new insights into the role of mitochondrial complex III (CIII) in...
journals.lww.com
July 4, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Please have a look at our commentary on a recent cool paper from @lukeanthonyoneill.bsky.social lab:
journals.lww.com/immunometabo...
journals.lww.com/immunometabo...
Reposted by John Riches
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 2 is a synthetic lethal target in mesenchymal-like cancers
Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 2 is a synthetic lethal target in mesenchymal-like cancers
Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 2 is a synthetic lethal target in mesenchymal-like cancers - Nature Genetics
The paralogs cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 1 and 2 form a potentially targetable synthetic lethal relationship in mesenchymal-like cancers that involves disruption of lipid metabolism.
www.nature.com
July 4, 2025 at 11:11 AM
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 2 is a synthetic lethal target in mesenchymal-like cancers
Cytidine diphosphate diacylglycerol synthase 2 is a synthetic lethal target in mesenchymal-like cancers
This week's paper presents some intriguing observations by Hongbo Chen and Daichao Xu and team who show that the enzyme RIPK1 senses S-adenosylmethionine scarcity to drive cell death and inflammation. Great work! www.cell.com/cell-metabol...
RIPK1 senses S-adenosylmethionine scarcity to drive cell death and inflammation
How cells sense nutrients to maintain homeostasis and prevent cell death is a fundamental
question. Chen et al. reveal that cells use RIPK1 to sense levels of the nutrient
methionine and its metabolit...
www.cell.com
July 4, 2025 at 11:51 AM
This week's paper presents some intriguing observations by Hongbo Chen and Daichao Xu and team who show that the enzyme RIPK1 senses S-adenosylmethionine scarcity to drive cell death and inflammation. Great work! www.cell.com/cell-metabol...