Research

Current Research

Post-translational modifications of proteins can influence for example their localisation, stability and interactions. They are important throughout life, from early development to being deregulated in disease. Some are well studied, like phosphorylation or ubiquitination, others remain more obscure still. We are interested in the modification of proteins with ADP-ribose.

Of long unknown importance, slowly its functions are emerging, such as in innate immunity and transcription. We are interested in both the enzymes that add ADP-ribose to proteins, the PARPs or ARTDs, and the enzymes that remove it, the macrodomain-containing hydrolases. By determining these enzymes’ function, we intend to further uncover the processes influenced by mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation. This will then enable us to decipher where ADP-ribosylation goes wrong in disease onset and progression.

Selected publications

Weixler L, Feijs KL*, Žaja R* (2022) ADP-ribosylation of RNA in mammalian cells is mediated by TRPT1 and multiple PARPs. Nucleic Acids Res, online ahead of print, doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac711.

Feijs, KL*; Žaja, R (2022). Are PARPs promiscuous? Biosci Rep 27;42(5)

Weixler L, Schäringer K, Momoh J, Lüscher B, Feijs KL*, Žaja R* (2021) ADP-ribosylation of RNA and DNA: from in vitro characterisation to in vivo function. Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Mar 8:gkab136. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkab136

Žaja R*, Aydin G, Lippok BE, Feederle R, Lüscher B, Feijs KL* (2020) Comparative analysis of MACROD1, MACROD2 and TARG1 expression, localisation and interactome. Sci Reps 10(1):8286, doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-64623-y.

Žaja R*, Cooper CDO & Feijs KL* (2020) The controversial roles of ADP-ribosylhydrolases MACROD1, MACROD2 and TARG1 in carcinogenesis. Cancers 3, 604, doi: 10.3390/cancers12030604

Feijs KL, Forst AH, Verheugd P & Luscher B (2013) Macrodomain-containing proteins: regulating new intracellular functions of mono(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 14, 443-51, doi: 10.1038/nrm3601.

Rosenthal F*, Feijs KL*, Frugier E, Bonalli M, Forst AH, Imhof R, Winkler HC, Fischer D, Caflisch A, Hassa PO, et al. (2013) Macrodomain-containing proteins are new mono-ADP-ribosylhydrolases. Nat Struct Mol Biol 20, 502-507, doi: 10.1038/nsmb.2521. * equal contribution