Rune Busk Damgaard's Avatar

Rune Busk Damgaard

@rbdamgaard.bsky.social

Associate Professor, Section for Medical Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark. Studies ubiquitin signalling in inflammation, metabolism, and disease.

1,919 Followers  |  809 Following  |  74 Posts  |  Joined: 16.10.2023  |  1.8803

Latest posts by rbdamgaard.bsky.social on Bluesky

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🧐 What if metabolic defects are not just a consequence of inflammatory disease - but actively contribute to it?

Inflammation and metabolism are deeply intertwined, but the molecular links remain unclear.

Our new paper in Cell Death & Differentiation uncovers one. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡
nature.com/articles/s41...

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks, Leo

16.02.2026 15:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

...Brent Ryan, Joern Dengjel, @gyrd-lab.bsky.social, @elliottlab.bsky.social, Lisa Frankel, @nievespeltzer.bsky.social, and Geert van Loo.

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Huge congratulations to Camilla ElbΓ¦k, co-authors, and amazing collaborators on this effort πŸ‘ @keisakamoto.bsky.social @labsakamoto.bsky.social, @annikameinander.bsky.social, Grahame Hardie...

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ’‘ This links inflammatory ubiquitin signalling directly to metabolic control.

Could metabolic dysfunction be a driver - not just a consequence - of inflammatory disease?

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ”¬ Using cell lines 🧫, mice 🐁, flies πŸͺ°, and patient cells πŸ₯, we found:

βœ”οΈ LUBAC + OTULIN regulate AMPK during energetic stress
βœ”οΈ M1-linked ubiquitination promotes AMPK activity and metabolic adaptation
βœ”οΈ Loss of this axis reduces cell and organism resilience to starvation

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ‘‰ We show that M1-linked ubiquitination by LUBAC directly regulates AMPK, the master energy sensor of the cell.

LUBAC and M1-linked ubiquitin are best known for regulating inflammatory signalling and cell death πŸ’€β˜ οΈ.

But they also control metabolic signalling and adaptation.

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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🧐 What if metabolic defects are not just a consequence of inflammatory disease - but actively contribute to it?

Inflammation and metabolism are deeply intertwined, but the molecular links remain unclear.

Our new paper in Cell Death & Differentiation uncovers one. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡
nature.com/articles/s41...

16.02.2026 12:00 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
M1-linked ubiquitination by LUBAC regulates AMPK signalling and the response to energetic stress #Drosophila PubMed link

M1-linked ubiquitination by LUBAC regulates AMPK signalling and the response to energetic stress
#Drosophila

14.02.2026 11:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Tomato? or tomahto?

13.02.2026 19:44 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A tale of two tags: UFMylation counters ubiquitination for ciliary homeostasis - Cell Death & Differentiation Cell Death & Differentiation - A tale of two tags: UFMylation counters ubiquitination for ciliary homeostasis

Interesting article and accompanying spotlight on the cross-talk between ciliary homeostasis and ubiquitination (written by Jonathan Pruneda and @rbdamgaard.bsky.social).

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

11.02.2026 14:16 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ’‘ Ciliary homeostasis turns out to depend on an unexpected tug-of-war between UFMylation and ubiquitination.

In a recent editorial in Cell Death & Differentiation,
@jnpruneda.bsky.social and I highlight new work from Wang et al. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡

29.01.2026 14:49 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A tale of two tags: UFMylation counters ubiquitination for ciliary homeostasis - Cell Death & Differentiation Cell Death & Differentiation - A tale of two tags: UFMylation counters ubiquitination for ciliary homeostasis

This work expands the landscape of PTM crosstalk and raises the possibility that ciliary dysfunction contributes to neurological and developmental disorders linked to the UFM1 pathway.

πŸ”— www.nature.com/articles/s41...

29.01.2026 14:49 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Mechanistically, UFMylation and ubiquitination compete for the same lysine on IFT88, forming a mutually exclusive modification switch that controls protein stability and ciliary integrity across tissues.

29.01.2026 14:49 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

While ubiquitination is a well-known regulator of protein stability, the roles of many ubiquitin-like modifiers remain unclear. Here, UFL1-mediated UFMylation emerges as a protective signal for the ciliary protein IFT88.

29.01.2026 14:49 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ’‘ Ciliary homeostasis turns out to depend on an unexpected tug-of-war between UFMylation and ubiquitination.

In a recent editorial in Cell Death & Differentiation,
@jnpruneda.bsky.social and I highlight new work from Wang et al. πŸ§΅πŸ‘‡

29.01.2026 14:49 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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🚨 Postdoc position in my lab!

A project on protein binder discovery for K6-linked #ubiquitin to investigate their role in infection is available.

πŸ“ DTU, Copenhagen, Denmark
⏰ Deadline: 18 December 2025

Apply here: efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

21.11.2025 16:44 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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🚨 Postdoc position in my lab!

A project on protein binder discovery for K6-linked #ubiquitin to investigate their role in infection is available.

πŸ“ DTU, Copenhagen, Denmark
⏰ Deadline: 18 December 2025

Apply here: efzu.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

21.11.2025 16:44 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A #postdoc position in atypical #ubiquitin signalling and protein binder engineering is opening soon in my lab at DTU Bioengineering! Get in touch if you are interested.

30.10.2025 14:13 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
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πŸš€ Off to our Research Retreat with the Section for Medical Biotechnology, DTU Biotechnology and Biomedicine.

Two days of science, ideas & innovation πŸ§¬πŸ’‘
12 faculty pitches, 30+ PhDs & postdocs, and endless opportunities for new collaborations πŸ”¬πŸ€βœ¨

07.10.2025 10:06 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A few months ago, our review β€œThe Molecular Toolbox for Linkage Type-Specific Analysis of Ubiquitin Signaling” πŸ§¬πŸ§°πŸ› οΈ came out in ChemBioChem. Time to give it a spotlight!

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hope this serves as a useful overview for anyone working on ubiquitin signalling or PTMs. Big thanks to those who did the heavy lifting in the writing process: Julian Koch, Camilla Reiter ElbΓ¦k & @dompri.bsky.social πŸ™ŒπŸ˜Š

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

We also highlight:
βœ… Trade-offs between specificity, throughput, & sensitivity
βœ… Gaps in the current toolbox where innovation is needed
βœ… The value of combining orthogonal methods for robust insight

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

…alongside analytical platforms such as:
βœ… Immunoblotting πŸ§«πŸ“Š
βœ… Fluorescence microscopy πŸ”¬πŸŒˆ
βœ… Enzymatic assays πŸ§ͺ⏱️
βœ… Mass spectrometry βš‘πŸ“ˆ

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

In the review, we summarise state-of-the-art tools for probing linkage-type specificity:
🎯 Antibodies & antibody-like molecules
🎯 Affimers
🎯 Engineered Ub-binding domains
🎯 Catalytically inactive deubiquitinases
🎯 Macrocyclic peptides

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Why this matters ⬇️
Ubiquitin chain diversity, i.e. different linkage types, mixed or branched chains, is central to cell signalling.
But analysing these chain types specifically remains a big challenge.

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A few months ago, our review β€œThe Molecular Toolbox for Linkage Type-Specific Analysis of Ubiquitin Signaling” πŸ§¬πŸ§°πŸ› οΈ came out in ChemBioChem. Time to give it a spotlight!

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

16.09.2025 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Is it still useful to insist that authors spell out every protein name in research papers? Many names are long, obscure, and say nothing about function... we might as well call them James, Joan, and John.

14.08.2025 12:09 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.

13.08.2025 17:28 β€” πŸ‘ 335    πŸ” 87    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 5
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Regeringens sult efter at afskaffe bureaukratiet er gΓ₯et for vidt, nΓ₯r den nu rammer forskerne Regeringen hΓ¦vder, at der med de nye besparelser pΓ₯ universiteterne ikke vil gΓ₯ midler fra forskning. Men forskere arbejder ikke i et vakuum. NΓ₯r administrationen fjernes, ryger tiden fra forskningen

Jeg er godt trΓ¦t af mΓ₯den regeringens spareplan rammer universiteterne.

03.07.2025 10:33 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

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