ADP-ribosylation doesn’t act alone.

Nice work showing how DTX2 generates a hybrid ADPr–ubiquitin mark at DNA damage sites — linking ADPr signaling directly to ubiquitin pathways.

PARPs don’t just modify proteins — they shape how condensates form and behave.

I’ll be speaking at Baylor College of Medicine on ADP-ribosylation in condensates and antiviral signaling.

Wed Apr 8, 11am CDT (hybrid)

If you’re nearby, come by — always better in person.

ADP-ribosylation is far more diverse than the usual mono vs poly view.
New sensitive tools from the Ivan Matic lab to resolve this complexity are a big step forward — expanding what more labs can now study.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

— with information carried in chain length and structure, not just chemistry.

That starts to look less like a simple modification, and more like a system shaping cellular organization.

The field is wide open.

Great to reconnect with old friends and meet new colleagues!

PARPs never fail to surprise.

Back @cshlbanbury.bsky.social — I kicked off a session on PARP stress responses, chaired a structural biology session, and joined a panel on PARP technologies.

What’s striking right now: ADP-ribosylation spans both proteins and nucleic acids

Global remodeling of ADP-ribosylation by PARP1 suppresses influenza A virus infection - Nature Communications Influenza A virus infection causes a dramatic upregulation of ADP-ribosylation that as part of the cellular antiviral response, a process that is counteracted by the viral NS1 protein.

Flu infection flips a “PAR switch”:
instead of hitting new targets, cells lengthen poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) chains on the same proteins to slow the virus.
Flu NS1 suppresses this; PARP1 drives it.
ELTA revealed both site & length changes.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Q.E.D. is fun to use and educational to reflect!

Would you consider adding a ChatBot in the interface so that we can interact with the critiques?

Thanks for creating such an amazing tool! 👏👏

Nuclear poly(A)-binding protein and nucleolin utilize their RNA recognition motifs to read PAR chains Abstract. Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation (PARylation) is a post-translational modification mediated by ADP-ribosyltransferases, known as PARPs, which attach ADP-ri

What if RNA had a molecular twin?
Our new study w/ the Bedford Lab (MD Anderson) shows poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) competes with RNA for the same proteins—creating RNA–PAR crosstalk.
Unlike RNA, PAR’s info isn’t in sequence but chain length.
🔗 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
#PARcode

A whirlwind few days in Cancún for the 2nd Spatial Genome Conference

Great science, great people — and a reminder why we do this.

After 20 yrs in nuclear organization, ideas once “unorthodox” (like nuclear actin) are now gaining mainstream.

Science moves, so should we.

@fusionconf.bsky.social

A whirlwind few days in Cancún for the 2nd Spatial Genome Conference 🌊

Great science, great people — and a reminder why we do this.

After 20 yrs in nuclear organization, ideas once “unorthodox” (like nuclear actin) are now gaining mainstream.

Science moves, and so should we.

Evidence for improved DNA repair in long-lived bowhead whale - Nature Analysis of the longest-lived mammal, the bowhead whale, reveals an improved ability to repair DNA breaks, mediated by high levels of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein.  &nbs...

Thrilled that our PAR-labeling tech supported new Nature findings from the Gorbunova–Seluanov team! Characterizing CIRBP in bowhead whales reveals how PARP regulation may shape longevity. Kudos to Hongrui Liu & Raymond Cai!
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Have you already seen this research article, recently published in LSA:
PARP10 is Critical for Stress Granule Initiation @leunglab.bsky.social www.life-science-alliance.org/content/8/12...

Just submitted for early access! Excited 😊

Thanks - will give it a try!

How to get access?

This study identifies PARP10 as a key regulator of stress granule assembly by ADP-ribosylating G3BP1 and modulating eIF2α phosphorylation and translation factor recruitment @leunglab.bsky.social www.life-science-alliance.org/content/8/12...

PARP10 is critical for stress granule initiation Stress granules (SGs) are cytoplasmic biomolecular condensates enriched with RNA and translation factors. They form in response to stress, in part through phosphorylation of the translation initiation...

How do our cells build “emergency rooms” when under attack?
New from our lab in Life Science Alliance: PARP10 triggers stress granule formation—revealing a way to tune how cells respond to stress, infection, or cancer.
Read: www.life-science-alliance.org/content/8/12...

As the Chair of Innovation Translation Council, venturing beyond lab science at the Bloomberg American Health Summit 2025.
A lot to absorb — and much to reflect on about scaling public health innovation to reach millions.

Grateful to Josh Sharfstein for making it possible to attend 🙏

research@BSPH Launches Innovation Translation Council | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Office of Research launched the Innovation Translation Council, chaired by BMB Professor Anthony Leung (@leunglab.bsky.social)! The ITC will connect researchers at the School with resources to translate their innovative research into community impacts. Learn more ⤵️

Congrats, Kevin!!

Thanks Waters, SCIEX, Seer, Proteintech and Avantor for sponsorship!!

What a fantastic day of science at FCBIS! @friedlab.bsky.social and I had a blast co-organizing this exciting dive into the chemistry-biology interface—great conversations, amazing energy, and a standout keynote by
@edwardmarcotte.bsky.social. Thanks to all who joined us!

Interferon function couples immune signaling to the ubiquitin–proteasome system.

Study from the @leunglab.bsky.social @johnshopkinsbmb.bsky.social

🆕 #preprintpeerreview @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social

Referee reports and author's response letter available here

--> doi.org/10.1101/2024...

Great to get to publish another one on the emerging connections between ADP-ribosylation, immune signaling, ubiquitin and protein aggregation/degradation

Ubiquitin is directly linked via an ester to protein-conjugated mono-ADP-ribose | The EMBO Journal imageimageCertain E3 ligases have been found to ubiquitylate hydroxyl groups on free NAD+ and ADP-ribose in vitro, but the in vivo occurrence of this dual post-translational modification has remained ...

Thanks Mike - also we saw ubiquitin involvement here - it will be interesting to see whether it related to your nice work on protein-conjugated ADP-ribose directly linked to ubiquitin. Need another nice bakery to chat more :-)

doi.org/10.1038/s443...

For #condensate folks 👀
Our study tackles a key gap: how condensate composition is regulated.
These p62 bodies require PARP14—but it’s not just presence that matters.
It’s PARP14’s enzymatic activity that drives formation.
In fact, more PARP14 without activity ≠ condensation.

Why it matters 👇
p62 bodies are key hubs for protein degradation & immune signaling—long linked to #cancer & #neurodegeneration.
Our study shows interferon + PARP14-driven ADP-ribosylation rewires their formation, revealing a new immune-regulated condensate class.

Interferon-induced PARP14-mediated ADP-ribosylation in p62 bodies requires the ubiquitin-proteasome system | The EMBO Journal imageimageInterferon induces the formation of ADP-ribosylation (ADPr)-enriched p62 bodies, requiring PARP14 and p62. Unlike canonical p62 bodies, these ADPr-enriched structures are independent of auto...

🥳 Out now @embojournal.org!
Interferon induces a new class of p62 bodies, with #antiviral & #immunotherapy implications.
p62 is usually linked to #autophagy — but not here.
These are driven by PARP14-mediated ADP-ribosylation & rely on #ubiquitin #proteasome system. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

In the midst of funding uncertainty in D.C., our lab took a moment to see the cherry blossoms.

We’re not naive—we know the challenges.

But we believe in science, in community, and in each other.

We’re in this together.

M