The central theme of the Rorbach lab is the molecular control of mitochondrial gene expression and its influence on physiology. We use genetic, proteomic, single-molecule and cryo-EM methods to reveal mechanisms and to identify novel factors involved in mitochondrial RNA metabolism. These interdisciplinary approaches help us to explore a poorly-understood area of mitochondrial biology with direct relevance to human health.
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Jing successfully defended his thesis on the 12th of September! Well done doctor :)
Congratulations to Michele Brischigliaro and Annika Krüger on their new publication investigating the TACO1-mediated biological mechanism that mitigates mitoribosome stalling at polyproline stretches during protein synthesis, as well as the pathological implications of its malfunction. This study was conducted in excellent collaboration with Antoni Barrientos group.
Congratulations to Miriam Cipullo and all the collaborators for the new study that highlights the role of GTPBP8 as a component of the mitochondrial gene expression machinery involved in mitochondrial large subunit maturation.
Congratulations to Joanna Rorbach for being part of the organizing committee at the EMBO Workshop that took place from 19 to 23 May 2024 in Jozefów, Poland
Congratulations to Annika, Daria, Dima and Joanna for the new comprehensive review of the current understanding of translation termination in human mitochondria, emphasizing structural features and molecular functions of two mitochondrial termination factors mtRF1 and mtRF1a.
We welcome Jakub Pagacz as a new PostDoc in our group :)
We have a new postdoc joining our group :) Welcome Shaghayegh Sheikh!
Elisa is joining the group as a visiting PhD student from University of Pisa (Italy) to investigate the role of mtRF1 in translation termination.
Many congratulations to Jing, Joanna and all collaborators on the new study demonstrating the impact tof mtDNA mutations on the immune system.
Lorina joined the group as visiting master student from University of Cologne (Germany) to study protein-binding events during mitoribosome assembly.
The human mitochondrial translation factor TACO1 alleviates mitoribosome stalling at polyproline stretches
Michele Brischigliaro*, Annika Krüger*, J Conor Moran, Hana Antonicka, Ahram Ahn, Eric A Shoubridge, Joanna Rorbach#, Antoni Barrientos# .
Nucleic Acid Research 22 July 2024; 10.1093/nar/gkae645
GTPBP8 plays a role in mitoribosome formation in human mitochondria
Miriam Cipullo, Genís Valentín Gesé, Shreekara Gopalakrishna, Annika Krueger, Vivian Lobo, Maria A. Pirozhkova, James Marks, Petra Páleníková, Dmitrii Shiriaev, Yong Liu, Jelena Misic, Yu Cai, Minh Duc Nguyen, Abubakar Abdelbagi, Xinping Li, Michal Minczuk, Markus Hafner, Daniel Benhalevy, Aishe A. Sarshad, Ilian Atanassov, B. Martin Hällberg & Joanna Rorbach#.
Nature Communications 15, Article number: 5664 (2024)
Decoding the Enigma: Translation Termination in Human Mitochondria
Annika Krüger#, Daria Kovalchuk, Dmitrii Shiriaev, Joanna Rorbach.
Human Molecular Genetics Volume 33, Issue R1, 1 June 2024, Pages R42–R46
# corresponding author
Antigen-presenting autoreactive B cells activate regulatory T cells and suppress autoimmune arthritis in mice
Aoun M, Coelho A, Krämer A, Saxena A, Sabatier P, Beusch CM, Lönnblom E, Geng M, Nhu-Nguyen Do, Xu Z, Zhang J, He Y, Romero Castillo L, Abolhassani H, Xu B, Viljanen J, Rorbach J, Fernandez Lahore G, Gjertsson I, Kastbom A, Sjöwall C, Kihlberg J, Zubarev RA, Burkhardt H, Holmdahl R.
J Exp Med 2023 Nov 6;220(11):e20230101
Antigen receptor stimulation induces purifying selection against pathogenic mitochondrial tRNA mutations
Zhang J, Koolmeister C, Han J, Filograna R, Hanke L, Àdori M, Sheward JD, Teifel S, Gopalakrishna S, Shao Q, Liu Y, Zhu K, Harris RA, McInerney G, Murrell B, Aoun M, Bäckdahl L, Holmdahl R, Pekalski M, Wedell A, Engvall M, Wredenberg A, Karlsson Hedestam GB, Castro-Dopico X#, and Rorbach J#.
JCI insights 2023;8(17):e167656
Insights into mitoribosomal biogenesis from recent structural studies
Khawaja A, Cipullo M, Krüger A, Rorbach J#.
Trends in Biochemical Sciences 2023 May 9
#corresponding author
Translation initiation of leaderless and polycistronic transcripts in mammalian mitochondria.
Remes C*, Khawaja A*, Pearce SF, Dinan AM, Gopalakrishna S, Cipullo M, Kyriakidis V, Zhang J, Dopico XC, Yukhnovets O, Atanassov I, Firth AE, Cooperman B, Rorbach J#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2023 Jan 11:gkac1233
*authors contributed equally; #corresponding author
Human mitochondria require mtRF1 for translation termination at non-canonical stop codons
Krüger A, Remes C, Shiriaev DI, Liu Y, Spåhr H, Wibom R, Atanassov I, Nguyen MD, Cooperman BS, Rorbach J#.
Nature Communications 2023 Jan 3;14(1):30.
#corresponding author
Streptogramin A derivatives as mitochondrial translation inhibitors to suppress glioblastoma stem cell growth
Sighel D#, Battistini G, Rosatti EF, Vigna J, Pavan M, Belli R, Peroni D, Alessandrini F, Longhi S, Pancher M, Rorbach J, Moro S, Quattrone A, Mancini I#.
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2023 Jan 15;246:114979
#corresponding authors
Structure of the mitoribosomal small subunit with streptomycin reveals Fe-S clusters and physiological molecules
Itoh Y*, Singh V*, Khawaja A*, Naschberger A, Nguyen MD, Rorbach J#, Amunts A#.
Elife 2022 Dec 8;11:e77460
*authors contributed equally; #corresponding authors
ANGEL2 phosphatase activity is required for non-canonical mitochondrial RNA processing
Clemente P#, Calvo-Garrido J, Pearce SF, Schober FA, Shigematsu M, Siira SJ, Laine I, Spåhr H, Steinmetzger C, Petzold K, Kirino Y, Wibom R, Rackham O, Filipovska A, Rorbach J, Freyer C*#, Wredenberg A*#.
Nature Communications 2022 Sep 30;13(1):5750
*authors contributed equally; #corresponding authors
Mechanism of mitoribosomal small subunit biogenesis and preinitiation.
Itoh Y*, Khawaja A*, Laptev I, Cipullo M, Atanassov I, Sergiev P, Rorbach J#, Amunts A#..
Nature doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-04795-x
* joint first authors, # corresponding authors
Impaired plasma cell differentiation associates with increased oxidative metabolism in IkBNS-deficient B cells
Erikson E, Ádori M, Khoenkhoen S, Zhang J, Rorbach J, Castro Dopico X, Karlsson Hedestam G#.
Cellular Immunology 2022 Apr 4;375:104516
#corresponding author
Structural basis for late maturation steps of the human mitoribosomal large subunit
Cipullo M*, Gesé GV*, Khawaja A, Hällberg BM#, Rorbach J#.
Nature Communications 2021 Jun 16;12(1):3673
*joint first authors; #corresponding authors
YbeY is required for ribosome small subunit assembly and tRNA processing in human mitochondria
D'Souza AR, Van Haute L, Powell CA, Mutti CD, Páleníková P, Rebelo-Guiomar P, Rorbach J, Minczuk M.
Nucleic Acids Research 2021 May 25:gkab404
#corresponding author
Seropositivity in blood donors and pregnant women during the first year of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Stockholm, Sweden
Castro Dopico X#, Muschiol S, Christian M, Hanke L, Sheward DJ, Grinberg NF, Rorbach J, Bogdanovic G, Mcinerney GM, Allander T, Wallace C, Murrell B, Albert J, Karlsson Hedestam GB#.
Journal of Internal Medicine 2021 May 18
#corresponding authors
Inhibition of mitochondrial translation suppresses glioblastoma stem cell growth
Sighel D, Notarangelo M, Aibara S, Re A, Ricci G, Guida M, Soldano A, Adami V, Ambrosini C, Broso F, Rosatti EF, Longhi S, Buccarelli M, D'Alessandris QG, Giannetti S, Pacioni S, Ricci-Vitiani L, Rorbach J, Pallini R, Roulland S, Amunts A, Mancini I, Modelska A#, Quattrone A#.
Cell Reports 2021 Apr 27;35(4):109024
#corresponding authors
Human Mitoribosome Biogenesis and Its Emerging Links to Disease
Lopez Sanchez MIG*#, Krüger A*, Shiriaev DI, Liu Y, Rorbach J#.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021 Apr 7;22(8):3827
*joint first authors; #corresponding authors
Aberrant splicing in neuroblastoma generates RNA-fusion transcripts and provides vulnerability to spliceosome inhibitors
Shi Y#, Yuan J, Rraklli V, Maxymovitz E, Cipullo M, Liu M, Li S, Westerlund I, Bedoya-Reina OC, Bullova P, Rorbach J, Juhlin CC, Stenman A, Larsson C, Kogner P, O'Sullivan MJ, Schlisio S, Holmberg J#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2021 Mar 18;49(5):2509-2521
#corresponding authors
Quantitative density gradient analysis by mass spectrometry (qDGMS) and complexome profiling analysis (ComPrAn) R package for the study of macromolecular complexes
Páleníková P, Harbour ME, Ding S, Fearnley IM, Van Haute L, Rorbach J, Scavetta R, Minczuk M#, Rebelo-Guiomar P#.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics 2021 Jun 1;1862(6):148399
#corresponding authors
Human GTPBP5 is involved in the late stage of mitoribosome large subunit assembly
Cipullo M, Pearce SF, Lopez Sanchez IG, Gopalakrishna S, Krüger A, Schober F, Busch JD, Li X, Wredenberg A, Atanassov I, Rorbach J#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2021 Jan 11;49(1):354-370
#corresponding author
Mitoribosome Profiling from Human Cell Culture: A High Resolution View of Mitochondrial Translation
Pearce SF, Cipullo M, Chung B, Brierley I, Rorbach J#.
Methods in Molecular Biology 2021;2192:183-196
#corresponding author
Differential processing and localization of human Nocturnin controls metabolism of mRNA and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactors
Abshire ET, Hughes KL*, Diao R*, Pearce S*, Gopalakrishna S, Trievel RC, Rorbach J, Freddolino PL, Goldstrohm AC#.
Journal of Biological Chemistry 2020 Oct 30;295(44):15112-15133
*authors with equal contributions; #corresponding author
Methylation of Ribosomal RNA: A Mitochondrial Perspective
Lopez Sanchez MIG#, Cipullo M, Gopalakrishna S, Khawaja A, Rorbach J#.
Frontiers in Genetics 2020 Jul 17;11:761
#corresponding authors
Distinct pre-initiation steps in human mitochondrial translation
Khawaja A*, Itoh Y*, Remes C, Spåhr H, Yukhnovets O, Höfig H, Amunts A#, Rorbach J#.
Nature Communications 2020 Jun 10;11(1):2932
*joint first authors; #corresponding authors
MitoRibo-Tag Mice Provide a Tool for In Vivo Studies of Mitoribosome Composition
Busch JD, Cipullo M, Atanassov I, Bratic A, Silva Ramos E, Schöndorf T, Li X, Pearce SF, Milenkovic D, Rorbach J#, Larsson NG#.
Cell Reports 2019 Nov 5;29(6):1728-1738.e9
#corresponding authors
C6orf203 is an RNA-binding protein involved in mitochondrial protein synthesis
Gopalakrishna S*, Pearce SF*, Dinan AM, Schober FA, Cipullo M, Spåhr H, Khawaja A, Maffezzini C, Freyer C, Wredenberg A, Atanassov I, Firth AE, Rorbach J#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2019 Sep 26;47(17):9386-9399
*joint first authors; #corresponding author
Myosin VI-Dependent Actin Cages Encapsulate Parkin-Positive Damaged Mitochondria
Kruppa AJ#, Kishi-Itakura C, Masters TA, Rorbach JE, Grice GL, Kendrick-Jones J, Nathan JA, Minczuk M, Buss F#.
Developmental Cell 2018 Feb 26;44(4):484-499.e6
#corresponding authors
Ribosome origami
Rorbach J, Aibara S, Amunts A#.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2017 Nov 7;24(11):879-881
#corresponding author
Defective mitochondrial rRNA methyltransferase MRM2 causes MELAS-like clinical syndrome
Garone C#, D'Souza AR, Dallabona C, Lodi T, Rebelo-Guiomar P, Rorbach J, Donati MA, Procopio E, Montomoli M, Guerrini R, Zeviani M, Calvo SE, Mootha VK, DiMauro S, Ferrero I, Minczuk M#.
Human Molecular Genetics 2017 Nov 1;26(21):4257-4266
#corresponding authors
Macropinocytic entry of isolated mitochondria in epidermal growth factor-activated human osteosarcoma cells
Patel D#, Rorbach J, Downes K, Szukszto MJ, Pekalski ML, Minczuk M#.
Scientific Reports 2017 Oct 10;7(1):12886
#corresponding authors
Human mitochondrial ribosomes can switch structural tRNAs - but when and why?
Chrzanowska-Lightowlers Z#, Rorbach J, Minczuk M#.
RNA Biology 2017 Dec 2;14(12):1668-1671
#corresponding authors
Structures of the human mitochondrial ribosome in native states of assembly
Brown A, Rathore S, Kimanius D, Aibara S, Bai XC, Rorbach J, Amunts A#, Ramakrishnan V#.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2017 Oct;24(10):866-869
#corresponding authors
Maturation of selected human mitochondrial tRNAs requires deadenylation
Pearce SF, Rorbach J, Van Haute L, D'Souza AR, Rebelo-Guiomar P, Powell CA, Brierley I, Firth AE, Minczuk M#.
Elife 2017 Jul 26;6:e27596
#corresponding author
The human RNA-binding protein RBFA promotes the maturation of the mitochondrial ribosome
Rozanska A, Richter-Dennerlein R, Rorbach J, Gao F, Lewis RJ, Chrzanowska-Lightowlers ZM#, Lightowlers RN#.
Biochemical Journal 2017 Jun 13;474(13):2145-2158
#corresponding authors
Human mitochondrial ribosomes can switch their structural RNA composition
Rorbach J*, Gao F*, Powell CA, D'Souza A, Lightowlers RN, Minczuk M#, Chrzanowska-Lightowlers ZM#.
PNAS 2016 Oct 25;113(43):12198-12201
*joint first authors; #corresponding authors
Near-complete elimination of mutant mtDNA by iterative or dynamic dose-controlled treatment with mtZFNs
Gammage PA#, Gaude E, Van Haute L, Rebelo-Guiomar P, Jackson CB, Rorbach J, Pekalski ML, Robinson AJ, Charpentier M, Concordet JP, Frezza C, Minczuk M#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2016 Sep 19;44(16):7804-16
#corresponding authors
Deficient methylation and formylation of mt-tRNA(Met) wobble cytosine in a patient carrying mutations in NSUN3
Van Haute L, Dietmann S, Kremer L, Hussain S, Pearce SF, Powell CA, Rorbach
J, Lantaff R, Blanco S, Sauer S, Kotzaeridou U, Hoffmann GF, Memari Y, Kolb-
Kokocinski A, Durbin R, Mayr JA, Frye M#, Prokisch H#, Minczuk M#.
Nature Communications 2016 Jun 30;7:12039
#corresponding authors
Human Cytomegalovirus Infection Upregulates the Mitochondrial Transcription and Translation Machineries
Karniely S#, Weekes MP, Antrobus R, Rorbach J, van Haute L, Umrania Y, Smith DL, Stanton RJ, Minczuk M, Lehner PJ, Sinclair JH.
mBio 2016 Mar 29;7(2):e00029
#corresponding author
C7orf30 is necessary for biogenesis of the large subunit of the mitochondrial ribosome
Rorbach J, Gammage PA, Minczuk M#.
Nucleic Acids Research 2016 Jan 29;44(2):992
#corresponding author