Wang Lab @ Tsinghua University

On Sep. 24, 2020, Hongwei Wang was awarded the 2019 Science and Technology Breakthrough Award (with Jijie Chai) by School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University. Please visit https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/V3wmG1-dI0oV4zw-G4YRlQ for more details.

Recently, the official website of Cell Press updated the list of advisory boards for Cell. Seven Chinese scientists, including Hongwei Wang, Fu Gao, Qi Zhou, Sanwen Huang, Caixia Gao, Lingling Chen and Zemin Zhang, were selected. Together with Xuetao Cao and Hongkui Deng, who were selected in 2013, there has been nine Chinese scholars in the Cell Advisory Board. At present, there are 119 members in the board. Please visit https://www.cell.com/cell/editorial-board for more details.

Zheng et al. Robust ultraclean atomically thin membranes for atomic-resolution electron microscopy. Nat. Commun., 2020 Jan 28.

The fast development of high-resolution electron microscopy (EM) demands a background-noise-free substrate to support the specimens, where atomically thin graphene membranes can serve as an ideal candidate. Yet the preparation of robust and ultraclean graphene EM grids remains challenging. Here we present a polymer- and transfer-free direct-etching method for batch fabrication of robust ultraclean graphene grids through membrane tension modulation. Loading samples on such graphene grids enables the detection of single metal atoms and atomic-resolution imaging of the iron core of ferritin molecules at both room- and cryo-temperature. The same kind of hydrophilic graphene grid allows the formation of ultrathin vitrified ice layer embedded most protein particles at the graphene-water interface, which facilitates cryo-EM 3D reconstruction of archaea 20S proteasomes at a record high resolution of ~2.36 Å. Our results demonstrate the significant improvements in image quality using the graphene grids and expand the scope of EM imaging.

Wang, Chai and Zhou’s project “Structural and functional research on a plant NLR resistosome” was selected as “2019 Top Ten Progresses in Life Sciences in China”. Please visit https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1655364469393570437&wfr=spider&for=pc for more details.

Dai et al. WHAMM initiates autolysosome tubulation by promoting actin polymerization on autolysosomes. Nat. Commun., 2019 Aug 16.

WHAMM, a member of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family, is an actin nucleation promoting factor (NPF) that also associates with membranes and microtubules. Here we report that WHAMM is required for autophagic lysosome reformation (ALR). WHAMM knockout causes impairment of autolysosome tubulation, which results in accumulation of enlarged autolysosomes during prolonged starvation. Mechanistically, WHAMM is recruited to the autolysosome membrane through its specific interaction with PI(4,5)P₂. WHAMM then works as an NPF which promotes assembly of an actin scaffold on the surface of the autolysosome to promote autolysosome tubulation. Our study demonstrates an unexpected role of the actin scaffold in regulating autophagic lysosome reformation.

Dai A, Yu L*, Wang HW*. (2019) WHAMM initiates autolysosome tubulation by promoting actin polymerization on autolysosomes. Nat. Commun., 10: 3699

Hongwei Wang has been awarded the 2019 XPLORER PRIZE, provided by Tencent Foundation. Please visit https://xplorerprize.org/gonggao.html for more details.

Lab Member, Xiao Fan has been awarded the Distinguished Ph.D. Dissertation Award by Tsinghua Univeristy.