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Cambridge Institute for Medical Research

 

Mechanisms of ribosome assembly

General audience summary:
The origins of inherited and acquired forms of blood cancer have recently been linked to defects in so-called 'housekeeping' processes in our cells, specifically in the assembly of the machines (called ribosomes) that make proteins. A major focus of our work is to understand in detail how ribosomes are put together from their component parts. To do this, we are learning about the three-dimensional shape of some of the key proteins involved and how these proteins work together in large complexes. As well as experiments in the test tube, we also use model organisms such as yeast and flies to test the effects of manipulating ribosome assembly in living organisms. The fundamental insights that we hope to obtain will potentially provide a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms.

Strategic CIMR themes: Organelle Biology, Rare Genetic Diseases

Funding: Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK, National Institute of Health Research

Research Group members:  Zakaria Boukerrou, Alexandre Faille, Vassileios Kargas,  Shengjiang Tan, David Traynor, Mantas Gudelis, Ciaran Byles-Ho, Florian Robert

Research

Ribosomes are the universally conserved macromolecular machines that decode the mRNA to make proteins. However, it remains unclear how these large ribonucleoprotein particles are assembled. Defects in the ribosome assembly process cause the 'ribosomopathies', a fascinating new group of human developmental disorders that perturb haematopoietic stem cell function and promote progression to bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukaemia.

The key questions that underpin our current research are: what are the mechanisms of eukaryotic ribosome assembly; how is this process regulated and monitored; what are the cellular consequences of defective ribosome biogenesis; how do defects in this process cause human disease? My laboratory uses a highly interdisciplinary approach that combines genetics, biochemistry and high-resolution structural studies, with a particular focus on single-particle cryo-electron microscopy.

 

 

Publications

Key publications: 

Ko D, Ruonala R, Faille A*, Hellmann E, Help H, Liu H, Nielsen R, Haakonsson A, De Diego N, Paatero A, Shcherbii MV, Stefanowicz K, Ćavar Zeljković S, Drud Lundager Rasmussen T, Novak O, Bodi Z, Eswaran G, Wybouw B, Bourdon M, Urbez C, Liu X, Salokas K, Öhman T, Waldie T, Törönen P, El-Showk S, Balcerowicz M, Besnard F, Liu X, Perkins P, Mazzoni-Putman S, Vainonen JP, Sierla M, Frilander MJ, Mandrup S, Vernoux T, Ljung K, Ferrando A, Blazquez MA, Holm L, Fray R, Varjosalo M, Leyser O, Paavilainen VO, Mähönen AP, Stepanova A, Alonso J, Heber S, Malinowski R, Kirpekar F*, Warren AJ*, Helariutta Y*. Science. 2026 Feb 12;391(6786):694-699. doi: 10.1126/science.adx2867. Epub 2026 Feb 12. PMID: 41678627 *Joint Corresponding Authors. 

 

Gordon J, Kaminksi AM, Bommu SR, Skrajna A, Petrovich RM, Pedersen LC, McGinty RK, Warren AJ*, Stanley RE*. PELP1 Modularly Regulates the Assembly and Enzymatic Activity of the RNA Rixosome. Sci Adv. 2025 Jul 25;11(30):eadw4603. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adw4603. *Joint corresponding authors. PMID: 40712028

 

Machado HE, Øbro NF, Williams N, Tan S, Boukerrou AZ, Davies M, Belmonte M, Mitchell E, Baxter EJ, Mende N, Clay A, Ancliff P, Köglmeier J, Killick SB, Kulasekararaj A, Meyer S, Laurenti E, Campbell PJ, Kent DK, Nangalia J, Warren AJ. Convergent somatic evolution commences in utero in a germline ribosomopathy. Nature Communications2023 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40896-5. PMID: 37608017

 

Pellegrino S, Dent KC, Spikes T, Warren AJ. Cryo-EM reconstruction of the human 40S ribosomal subunit at 2.15 Å resolution. Nucleic Acids Research, 2023 May 8;51(8):4043-4054. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad194. PMID: 36951107

 

Prattes M, Grishkovskaya I, Hodirnau V-V, Hetzmannseder C, Zisser G, Sailer C, Vasileios Kargas, Loibl M, Gerhalter M, Kofler L, Warren AJ, Stengel F, Haselbach D and Bergler H. Structure of the AAA-ATPase Drg1 during extraction of Rlp24 from pre-60S particles. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 2022 Sep;29(9):942-953. doi: 10.1038/s41594-022-00832-5. Epub 2022 Sep 12. PMID: 36097293

 

Jaako P, Faille A, Tan S, Wong CC, Escudero-Urquijo N, Castro-Hartmann P, Wright P, Hilcenko C, Adams DJ, Warren AJ. eIF6 rebinding dynamically couples ribosome maturation and translation. Nature Communications 13, 1562 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29214-7. PMID: 35322020

 

Tan S, Kermasson L, Hilcenko C, Kargas V, Traynor D, Boukerrou AZ, N Escudero-Urquijo, Faille A, Rossmann M, Goyenechea B, Bertrand A, Moreil J, Alibeu O, Beaupain B,  Bôle-Feysot C, Fumagalli S, Kaltenbach S, Martignoles J-A, Masson C, Nitschké P, Parisot M, Pouliet A, Radford-Weiss I, Tores F, de Villartay J-P, Zarhrate M, Koh AL, Phua KB, Revesade B, Bond PJ, Bellanné-Chantelot C, Callebaut I, Delhommeau F, Donadieu J, Warren AJ* and Revy P*. Somatic genetic rescue of a germline ribosome assembly defect. Nature Communications (2021) Aug 19;12(1):5044. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24999-5. PMID: 34413298. *Joint Senior authors

 

Tan S, Kermasson L, Hoslin A, Jaako P, Faille A, Acevedo-Arenzana A, Lengline E, Ranta D, Poirée, M, Fenneteau O, Ducou le Pointe H, Fumagalli S, Beaupain B, Nitschke P, Bôle-Feysot C, de Villartay J-P, Bellanné-Chantelot C, Donadieu J, Kannengiesser C, Warren AJ*, and Revy P*. EFL1 mutations impair eIF6 release to cause Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. Blood 2019 Jul 18;134(3):277-290. doi: 10.1182/blood.2018893404. Epub 2019 May 31. *Joint corresponding authors. PMID: 31151987

 

Kargas V, Castro-Hartmann P, Escudero-Urquijo N, Dent K, Carvalho M, Sailer C, Zisser G, Hilcenko C, Freund S, Wagstaff J, Andreeva A, Faille A, Chen E, Stengel F, Bergler H, Warren AJ. Mechanism of completion of peptidyltransferase centre assembly in eukaryotes. Elife, 2019 May 22;8:e44904. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44904. PMID: 31115337

 

Zyryanova AF*, Weis F, Faille A, Alard AA, Crespillo-Casado A, Sekine Y, Harding HP, Allen F, Parts L, Fromont C, Fischer PM, Warren AJ* and Ron D*. Binding of the integrated stress response inhibitor ISRIB reveals a regulatory site in the nucleotide exchange factor, eIF2B. Science 2018 Mar 30;359 (6383):1533-1536. doi: 10.1126/science.aar5129. *Joint corresponding authors. PMID: 29599245. 

 

Weis F, Giudice E, Churcher M, Jin L, Hilcenko C, Wong CC, Traynor D, Kay RR, Warren AJ. Mechanism of eIF6 release from the nascent 60S ribosomal subunit. Nat Struct Mol Biol, (2015) Nov;22(11):914-9. doi: 10.1038/nsmb.3112. Epub 2015 Oct 19. PMID: 26479198. 

 

Hilcenko C, Simpson PJ, Finch AJ, Bowler FR, Churcher MJ, Jin L, Packman LC, Shlien A, Campbell P, Kirwan M, Dokal I, Warren AJ. Aberrant 3’ oligoadenylation of spliceosomal U6 small nuclear RNA in poikiloderma with neutropenia. Blood. 2013 Feb 7;121(6):1028-38. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-10-461491. Epub 2012 Nov 27. PMID: 23190533

 

Wong CC, Traynor D, Basse N, Kay RR, Warren AJ. Defective ribosome assembly in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. Plenary Paper, Blood. 2011 Oct 20;118(16):4305-12. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-06-353938. Epub 2011 Jul 29. PMID: 21803848

 

Finch AJ, Hilcenko C, Basse N, Drynan LF, Goyenechea B, Menne TF, González Fernández Á, Simpson P, D’Santos CS, Arends MJ, Donadieu J, Bellanné-Chantelot C, Costanzo M, Boone C, McKenzie AN, Freund SM, Warren AJ. Uncoupling of GTP hydrolysis from eIF6 release on the ribosome causes Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. Genes and Development (2011) 25: 917-929. PMID: 21536732

 

Barlow JL, Drynan LF, Hewett DR, Holmes LR, Lorenzo-Abalde S, Lane AL, Jolin HE, Pannell R, Middleton AJ, Wong SH, Warren AJ, Wainscoat JS, Boultwood J, McKenzie AN. A p53-dependent mechanism underlies macrocytic anemia in a mouse model of human 5q- syndrome. Nature Medicine. (2010) Jan; 16(1): 59-66. Epub 2009 Nov 22. PMID: 19966810. 

 

Menne TM, Goyenechea B, Sánchez-Puig N, Wong CC, Tonkin LM, Ancliff P, Brost RL, Costanzo M, Boone C and Warren AJ. The Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome protein mediates translational activation of ribosomes in yeast. Nature Genetics (2007) 39: 486-95. PMID:17353896

 

Allen MD, Grummitt CG, Hilcenko, C, Young Min S, Tonkin LM, Johnson CM, Freund S, Bycroft SM, Warren AJ. Solution structure of the nonmethyl-CpG-binding CXXC domain from the leukaemia-associated MLL histone methyltransferase.  EMBO J. (2006), 25: 4503-12.

 

Bravo J, Li Z, Speck NA, Warren AJ. The leukemia-associated AML1 (Runx1)-CBFß complex functions as a DNA-induced molecular clamp. Nature Struct. Biol. (2001) 8: 371-8. 

 

Warren AJ, Bravo J, Williams RL, Rabbitts TH. Structural basis for the heterodimeric interaction between the acute leukaemia-associated transcription factors AML1 and CBFß. EMBO J. (2000) 19: 3004-15.

 

Yamada Y, Warren AJ, Dobson C, Forster A, Pannell R, Rabbitts TH. The T cell leukemia LIM protein Lmo2 is necessary for adult mouse hematopoiesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA  (1998) 95: 3890-95. PMID: 9520463

 

Warren AJ, Colledge WH, Carlton MB, Evans MJ, Smith AJ, Rabbitts TH. The oncogenic cysteine-rich LIM domain protein rbtn2 is essential for erythroid development. Cell (1994) 78: 45-57.

Professor of Haematology

Contact Details

ajw1000@cam.ac.uk
01223 748488
Takes PhD students
Available for consultancy

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