Congratulations to Yun for winning the “Excellent Graduate Student” of IBP and “Dean Award” for her PhD thesis. Yun investigated mechanism and regulation for curvature generation by ER tubule-forming proteins. She will soon launch her postdoc training.

July 2, 2024

Our paper on ER morphology regulation during mitosis has been published in NSMB. Upon phosphorylation, Rab1A engages ER tubule-forming proteins, increases their oligomerization, which in turn causes ER fenestration that is necessary for proper cell division.

Links: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41594-023-01165-7

January 4, 2024

Our systematic analysis of ER shaping mechanism has been published in Nature Communications and JCS. AI-predicted structures were used with cross-linking and manual assembly of 3D-printed structural models. These results indicated that multifaceted oligomerization is common in achieving membrane shape and tether.

Links: https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.260976

          https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38294-y

May 8, 2023

Our collaborative paper on S89 has been published in Nature Chemical Biology. Manipulation of mitochondrial dynamics is of great therapeutic interest. We report a small molecule agonist that activates MFN1, an outer mitochondrial membrane protein, and protects cells from mitochondrial damage and ischemia/reperfusion injury in a mouse model.

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-022-01224-y

January 13, 2023

Our paper on Deepcontact has been published in JCB. Efficient and effective quantification protocol of membrane contact site is an urgent demand in precise surveillance of various cellular processes. We develop a deep-learning based high throughput tool for profiling the contact with EM images.

Link:  https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202106190

August 12, 2022

Our paper on FIT2-mediated LD formation has been published in JCB. It shows that FIT2 recruits ER tubule-forming proteins and septin cytoskeletons to facilitate nascent LD formation by providing membrane curvature and bulging scaffold. Congratulations Fang and Bing!
Please also check out the two “in and out” reviews by our lab. 

Link:  https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201907183

April 17, 2021

Jinghu, Birong, and Sha just joined the lab at the end of this unusual 2020. Jinghu graduated from Wuhan. Birong and Sha did their postdoc in US. They all finally made their way to Beijing and to IBP. Welcome!!! 

December 22, 2020

Yuanbo, Lan, Yuan, and Peien have successfully defended their theses. Congratulations and good luck with their future endeavors! We have also experienced our very first online defense. It was fun......

May 29, 2020

Our paper on OPA1-MGD structure has been published in JCB. It sheds light on its dimerization that is physiologically important and provides an explanation for pathogenic mutations. Congratulations Jinghua!

Link: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201907098

May 07, 2020

Our paper on STIM1-Orai interactions has been published in JCS. It suggests a sequential binding model, in which STIM1 is first recruited to Orai through the CT; it then binds to Orai-NT for channel gating. Congratulations Liling and Fuyun!

Link: https://jcs.biologists.org/content/133/8/jcs239491

April 29, 2020

Our paper on structural and functional analysis of the inner mitochondrial fusion protein Mgm1 has been published in PNAS. It reveals a novel mode for homotypic membrane fusion. Congratulations Yuanbo!

Link: https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4061

February 25, 2020