Pub Date : 2026-01-22Epub Date: 2026-01-09DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.020
Yuta Otobe, Norie Deki-Arima, Shao Xinyan, Kazuma Itabashi, Nobuhiro Kurabayashi, Utaro Nakamura, Anna Uchida, Ryutaro Shimazaki, Kaneyoshi Yamamoto, Takeshi Sakurai, Ying-Hui Fu, Louis J Ptáček, Arisa Hirano, Masao Doi, Hikari Yoshitane
The circadian clock drives daily rhythms of gene expression and physiology. Advances in next-generation DNA sequencing have provided extensive insights into RNA expression, but more functional information at the protein level with sufficient depth has been limited by technical challenges. In this study, we generated a comprehensive mouse circadian proteome atlas (https://chronoproteinology.org/circadian_atlas) by analyzing 32 tissues, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), using the next-generation mass spectrometer Orbitrap Astral. Data-independent acquisition of 584 samples, including developmental samples, revealed the spatiotemporal profiles of about 19,000 proteins. Proteome and phospho-proteome analyses of whole-cell and nuclear proteins in the liver revealed circadian changes in protein quantity and quality, as well as global changes in hPER2-S662G mutant mice, a genetic model of human familial advanced sleep phase (FASP). This multi-tissue circadian proteome atlas provides a fundamental resource for understanding when, where, and which proteins are expressed and function.
{"title":"A mouse circadian proteome atlas.","authors":"Yuta Otobe, Norie Deki-Arima, Shao Xinyan, Kazuma Itabashi, Nobuhiro Kurabayashi, Utaro Nakamura, Anna Uchida, Ryutaro Shimazaki, Kaneyoshi Yamamoto, Takeshi Sakurai, Ying-Hui Fu, Louis J Ptáček, Arisa Hirano, Masao Doi, Hikari Yoshitane","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The circadian clock drives daily rhythms of gene expression and physiology. Advances in next-generation DNA sequencing have provided extensive insights into RNA expression, but more functional information at the protein level with sufficient depth has been limited by technical challenges. In this study, we generated a comprehensive mouse circadian proteome atlas (https://chronoproteinology.org/circadian_atlas) by analyzing 32 tissues, including the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), using the next-generation mass spectrometer Orbitrap Astral. Data-independent acquisition of 584 samples, including developmental samples, revealed the spatiotemporal profiles of about 19,000 proteins. Proteome and phospho-proteome analyses of whole-cell and nuclear proteins in the liver revealed circadian changes in protein quantity and quality, as well as global changes in hPER2-S662G mutant mice, a genetic model of human familial advanced sleep phase (FASP). This multi-tissue circadian proteome atlas provides a fundamental resource for understanding when, where, and which proteins are expressed and function.</p>","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":" ","pages":"393-406.e3"},"PeriodicalIF":16.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145948784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.018
Claudio De Virgilio
{"title":"EGO complex at 20: The Rag GTPase-TORC1 nutrient-sensing blueprint","authors":"Claudio De Virgilio","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"222 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-22DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.030
Krystina Julia Szylo, Scott James Dixon
{"title":"Fin(e)-tuning ferroptosis","authors":"Krystina Julia Szylo, Scott James Dixon","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.030","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146033188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Approximately 10% of eukaryotic proteins are folded by the TRiC/CCT complex (TCP1-ring complex, also called CCT for cytosolic chaperonin containing TCP1), and only open-state TRiC can bind with programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5). However, the physiological role of the PDCD5-TRiC interaction remains elusive. Here, we show that PDCD5 is required for flagellum biogenesis and ciliogenesis and present the PDCD5-TRiC structures in their open states at near-atomic resolution. Mechanically, we find that PDCD5 promotes substrates release by competing with PhLP2A to interact with TRiC, and the depletion of PDCD5 traps flagellum- and cilium-associated proteins within TRiC, finally leading to malformed flagella of spermatids and cilia in mouse ciliated cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that the function of PDCD5 in flagellum biogenesis and ciliogenesis depends on the interaction with TRiC by its C terminus. These findings identify PDCD5 as a TRiC regulator to promote a subset of proteins release.
{"title":"PDCD5 promotes substrate release from the TRiC complex in cilia and flagella.","authors":"Huafang Wei, Qianqian Song, Liying Wang, Qiong Deng, Bingbing Wu, Yinghong Chen, Tingting Han, Yueshuai Guo, Zuyang Li, Fucheng Dong, Shuang Ma, Qiaoyu Zhao, Xiangyi Shi, Chen Pan, Wanying Jiang, Xiaofei Liu, Yingyu Chen, Renjie Jiao, Li Yuan, Chao Liu, Xuejiang Guo, Yao Cong, Wei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Approximately 10% of eukaryotic proteins are folded by the TRiC/CCT complex (TCP1-ring complex, also called CCT for cytosolic chaperonin containing TCP1), and only open-state TRiC can bind with programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5). However, the physiological role of the PDCD5-TRiC interaction remains elusive. Here, we show that PDCD5 is required for flagellum biogenesis and ciliogenesis and present the PDCD5-TRiC structures in their open states at near-atomic resolution. Mechanically, we find that PDCD5 promotes substrates release by competing with PhLP2A to interact with TRiC, and the depletion of PDCD5 traps flagellum- and cilium-associated proteins within TRiC, finally leading to malformed flagella of spermatids and cilia in mouse ciliated cells. Moreover, we demonstrate that the function of PDCD5 in flagellum biogenesis and ciliogenesis depends on the interaction with TRiC by its C terminus. These findings identify PDCD5 as a TRiC regulator to promote a subset of proteins release.</p>","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":" ","pages":"376-392.e11"},"PeriodicalIF":16.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145934424","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-19DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.022
Alžběta Roeselová, Santosh Shivakumaraswamy, Gabija Jurkeviciute, Jessica Zhiyun He, Josef Auburger, Jaro L. Schmitt, Günter Kramer, Bernd Bukau, Radoslav I. Enchev, David Balchin
{"title":"The ribosome synchronizes folding and assembly to promote oligomeric protein biogenesis","authors":"Alžběta Roeselová, Santosh Shivakumaraswamy, Gabija Jurkeviciute, Jessica Zhiyun He, Josef Auburger, Jaro L. Schmitt, Günter Kramer, Bernd Bukau, Radoslav I. Enchev, David Balchin","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.022","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146001549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
LGP2, a RIG-I-like receptor, plays a crucial role in antiviral immunity by enhancing MDA5 activity against specific viral infections. Here, using biochemical assays, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and high-speed atomic force microscopy, we reveal that LGP2 initially binds to the ends of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and subsequently translocates along the RNA via ATP hydrolysis. Our cryo-EM structure demonstrates that LGP2 forms filament-like assemblies with MDA5 along the internal region of dsRNA, promoting MDA5 filament nucleation. Additionally, LGP2 and MDA5 form short RNA filaments, which are further cross-bridged via caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD)-CARD interactions, leading to the formation of filament microclusters. These microclusters, in turn, stimulate mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) filament formation. Our findings uncover a dynamic interplay between LGP2 and MDA5, revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism that enhances antiviral immune responses.
{"title":"Molecular mechanism of MDA5 nucleation and filament formation by LGP2","authors":"Nina Kurihara, Yukari Isayama, Jiayan Zhang, Takashi Yamashita, Kentaro Awaji, Yukiko Ito, Ayumi Yoshizaki, Takahisa Kouwaki, Hiroyuki Oshiumi, Hiroshi Nishimasu, Mikihiro Shibata, Osamu Nureki, Kazuki Kato","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.019","url":null,"abstract":"LGP2, a RIG-I-like receptor, plays a crucial role in antiviral immunity by enhancing MDA5 activity against specific viral infections. Here, using biochemical assays, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), and high-speed atomic force microscopy, we reveal that LGP2 initially binds to the ends of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and subsequently translocates along the RNA via ATP hydrolysis. Our cryo-EM structure demonstrates that LGP2 forms filament-like assemblies with MDA5 along the internal region of dsRNA, promoting MDA5 filament nucleation. Additionally, LGP2 and MDA5 form short RNA filaments, which are further cross-bridged via caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD)-CARD interactions, leading to the formation of filament microclusters. These microclusters, in turn, stimulate mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) filament formation. Our findings uncover a dynamic interplay between LGP2 and MDA5, revealing a previously unrecognized mechanism that enhances antiviral immune responses.","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145995043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.013
Stephanie Halim, Rebecca M. Sebastian, Kristi E. Liivak, Jessica E. Patrick, Tiffani Hui, David R. Amici, Andrew O. Giacomelli, Paulina Rios, Vincent L. Butty, William C. Hahn, Francisco J. Sánchez-Rivera, Marc L. Mendillo, Yu-Shan Lin, Matthew D. Shoulders
Protein mutational landscapes are shaped by how amino acid substitutions affect stability and folding or aggregation kinetics. These properties are modulated by cellular proteostasis networks. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is the master regulator of cytosolic and nuclear proteostasis. Chronic HSF1 activity upregulation is a hallmark of cancer cells, potentially because upregulated proteostasis factors facilitate the acquisition and maintenance of oncogenic mutations. Here, we assess how HSF1 activation influences mutational trajectories by which p53 can escape cytotoxic pressure from nutlin-3, an inhibitor of the p53 regulator mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2). HSF1 activation broadly increases the fitness of dominant-negative p53 substitutions, particularly non-conservative, biophysically unfavorable amino acid changes within buried regions of the p53 DNA-binding domain. These findings demonstrate that HSF1 activation reshapes the oncogenic mutational landscape by preferentially supporting the emergence and persistence of biophysically disruptive, cancer-associated p53 substitutions, linking proteostasis network activity directly to oncogenic evolution.
{"title":"Dominant-negative TP53 mutations potentiated by the HSF1-regulated proteostasis network","authors":"Stephanie Halim, Rebecca M. Sebastian, Kristi E. Liivak, Jessica E. Patrick, Tiffani Hui, David R. Amici, Andrew O. Giacomelli, Paulina Rios, Vincent L. Butty, William C. Hahn, Francisco J. Sánchez-Rivera, Marc L. Mendillo, Yu-Shan Lin, Matthew D. Shoulders","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.013","url":null,"abstract":"Protein mutational landscapes are shaped by how amino acid substitutions affect stability and folding or aggregation kinetics. These properties are modulated by cellular proteostasis networks. Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is the master regulator of cytosolic and nuclear proteostasis. Chronic HSF1 activity upregulation is a hallmark of cancer cells, potentially because upregulated proteostasis factors facilitate the acquisition and maintenance of oncogenic mutations. Here, we assess how HSF1 activation influences mutational trajectories by which p53 can escape cytotoxic pressure from nutlin-3, an inhibitor of the p53 regulator mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2). HSF1 activation broadly increases the fitness of dominant-negative p53 substitutions, particularly non-conservative, biophysically unfavorable amino acid changes within buried regions of the p53 DNA-binding domain. These findings demonstrate that HSF1 activation reshapes the oncogenic mutational landscape by preferentially supporting the emergence and persistence of biophysically disruptive, cancer-associated p53 substitutions, linking proteostasis network activity directly to oncogenic evolution.","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"30 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145961690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.026
Junke Wang, Darlan Conterno Minussi, Alexander Davis, Runmin Wei, Hanghui Ye, Emi Sei, Aislyn Schalck, Yun Yan, Hua-Jun Wu, Shanshan Bai, Cheng Peng, Min Hu, Anna Casasent, Alejandro Contreras, Hui Chen, David Hui, Senthil Damodaran, Mary E. Edgerton, Scott Kopetz, Bora Lim, Nicholas Navin
Tumors are composed of a myriad of subclones that bulk DNA sequencing (DNA-seq) methods cannot accurately resolve. Single-cell DNA-seq methods were developed to address this issue, yet their data analysis remains challenging. Here, we present CopyKit, a comprehensive tool for single-cell DNA copy-number analysis to resolve clonal substructure and reconstruct genetic lineages. Additionally, we introduce “scquantum” to estimate the integer copy-number states of single cells. We performed single-cell DNA-seq of 11,845 cells from one primary breast tumor, two liver metastases, and three primary tumors with matched metastatic tissues. These data identified the subclones from the primary tumors that seeded the metastatic lesions and their associated copy-number events. The data also provided evidence of both subclonal intermixing and spatial segregation in different regions of the liver metastasis. These applications show that CopyKit is a powerful approach for the analysis of high-throughput single-cell copy-number data.
{"title":"Delineating the copy-number substructure of metastatic tumors with CopyKit","authors":"Junke Wang, Darlan Conterno Minussi, Alexander Davis, Runmin Wei, Hanghui Ye, Emi Sei, Aislyn Schalck, Yun Yan, Hua-Jun Wu, Shanshan Bai, Cheng Peng, Min Hu, Anna Casasent, Alejandro Contreras, Hui Chen, David Hui, Senthil Damodaran, Mary E. Edgerton, Scott Kopetz, Bora Lim, Nicholas Navin","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.026","url":null,"abstract":"Tumors are composed of a myriad of subclones that bulk DNA sequencing (DNA-seq) methods cannot accurately resolve. Single-cell DNA-seq methods were developed to address this issue, yet their data analysis remains challenging. Here, we present CopyKit, a comprehensive tool for single-cell DNA copy-number analysis to resolve clonal substructure and reconstruct genetic lineages. Additionally, we introduce “scquantum” to estimate the integer copy-number states of single cells. We performed single-cell DNA-seq of 11,845 cells from one primary breast tumor, two liver metastases, and three primary tumors with matched metastatic tissues. These data identified the subclones from the primary tumors that seeded the metastatic lesions and their associated copy-number events. The data also provided evidence of both subclonal intermixing and spatial segregation in different regions of the liver metastasis. These applications show that CopyKit is a powerful approach for the analysis of high-throughput single-cell copy-number data.","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"258 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145961692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.011
Beatrice Zhang, Omar Abdel-Wahab
In this issue of Molecular Cell, Kral et al.1 identify a targetable, novel mechanism of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumorigenesis via SRSF1 splicing-mediated regulation of an Alu-derived exon in Aurora kinase A (AURKA).
{"title":"Finding an Achilles' heel of cancer cells: Exonized Alu elements in AURKA.","authors":"Beatrice Zhang, Omar Abdel-Wahab","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this issue of Molecular Cell, Kral et al.<sup>1</sup> identify a targetable, novel mechanism of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumorigenesis via SRSF1 splicing-mediated regulation of an Alu-derived exon in Aurora kinase A (AURKA).</p>","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":"86 1","pages":"3-5"},"PeriodicalIF":16.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145945277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-08Epub Date: 2025-12-30DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.008
Danish Khan, Ananya A Vinayak, Cole S Sitron, Onn Brandman
The ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) pathway resolves stalled ribosomes. As part of RQC, stalled nascent polypeptide chains (NCs) are appended with CArboxy-Terminal amino acid tails (CAT tails) in an mRNA-free, non-canonical elongation process. The relationship between CAT tail composition (alanine [Ala] and threonine [Thr] in yeast) and function has remained unknown. Using biochemical approaches in yeast, we discovered that mechanical forces on the NC regulate CAT tailing. We propose that CAT tailing initially operates in "extrusion mode," which increases NC lysine accessibility for on-ribosome ubiquitylation. Thr in CAT tails prevents the formation of polyalanine, which forms α-helices that lower extrusion efficiency and disrupt termination of CAT tailing. After NC ubiquitylation, pulling forces on the NC switch CAT tailing to an Ala-only "release mode," which facilitates NC release and degradation. Failure to switch from extrusion to release mode leads to the accumulation of NCs on large ribosomal subunits and proteotoxic aggregation of Thr-rich CAT tails.
{"title":"Mechanical forces regulate the composition and fate of stalled nascent chains.","authors":"Danish Khan, Ananya A Vinayak, Cole S Sitron, Onn Brandman","doi":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.molcel.2025.12.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ribosome-associated quality control (RQC) pathway resolves stalled ribosomes. As part of RQC, stalled nascent polypeptide chains (NCs) are appended with CArboxy-Terminal amino acid tails (CAT tails) in an mRNA-free, non-canonical elongation process. The relationship between CAT tail composition (alanine [Ala] and threonine [Thr] in yeast) and function has remained unknown. Using biochemical approaches in yeast, we discovered that mechanical forces on the NC regulate CAT tailing. We propose that CAT tailing initially operates in \"extrusion mode,\" which increases NC lysine accessibility for on-ribosome ubiquitylation. Thr in CAT tails prevents the formation of polyalanine, which forms α-helices that lower extrusion efficiency and disrupt termination of CAT tailing. After NC ubiquitylation, pulling forces on the NC switch CAT tailing to an Ala-only \"release mode,\" which facilitates NC release and degradation. Failure to switch from extrusion to release mode leads to the accumulation of NCs on large ribosomal subunits and proteotoxic aggregation of Thr-rich CAT tails.</p>","PeriodicalId":18950,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Cell","volume":" ","pages":"97-113.e4"},"PeriodicalIF":16.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12884557/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145878808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}