Bernd Bauer

Thanks!

A big thanks to the entire lab for their support, especially my PhD supervisor @martenslab.bsky.social
This project was funded by @fwf-at.bsky.social and @wwtf.at

@viennabiocenter.bsky.social @vbcscitraining.bsky.social @maxperutzlabs.ac.at @sfb-tpd-vienna.bsky.social @univie.ac.at

7/ In summary, Tau aggregates evade autophagy by excluding TAX1BP1, and forced recruitment of TAX1BP1 reactivates their degradation. TAX1BP1 assembles the upstream autophagy machinery via its SKICH domain to form an initiation hub that triggers autophagosome biogenesis.

6/ And this hub matters:
Tethering individual components alone is not enough to induce autophagy (A).
Only simultaneous recruitment of the upstream machinery promotes autophagy initiation(B).

5/ Mechanistically, TAX1BP1 recruits the upstream autophagy machinery, including the ULK1 complex and TBK1 (A), to assemble an initiation hub via its SKICH domain (B).

4/ If we bypass this blockade by artificially tethering TAX1BP1 to Tau aggregates (A), this is sufficient to trigger autophagic flux (B).
→ Aggregates are sequestered into autophagosomes (C)
→ And efficiently cleared (D)

3/ Why?
These Tau aggregates fail to initiate autophagy. They exclude key upstream autophagy factors, most importantly the receptor TAX1BP1 (A+B)
This mirrors our previous in vitro reconstitution work using post-mortem Tau fibrils.

2/ Using a reconstituted cellular system, we found that Tau aggregates, despite being ubiquitinated and recognized by the early autophagy receptor p62 (A), are not degraded by autophagy (B). This behaviour is consistent with what is seen in disease.

Why do pathological protein aggregates persist in cells and how can we overcome this?
In our new preprint, we show that Tau aggregates fail to initiate selective autophagy and that their autophagic degradation can be restored.
#Autophagy #Tau #Proteostasis

Out now 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

I’m happy to share the main result of my PhD, which you can find on bioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6.... If you are interested in learning about a new way to perform DNA-PAINT multiplexing, which we call Combi-PAINT, or if you are interested in the study of mRNA conformation, keep reading! 1/10

Big news! Group leader Sascha Martens has been awarded a prestigious @erc.europa.eu Synergy Grant for the collaborative project DegrAbility to explore how cells can better recycle harmful protein aggregates linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s ➡️ tinyurl.com/2zuz9jcf

@univie.ac.at
@meduniwien.ac.at

A lipid transfer-dependent feedback loop activates ATG9A compartments in autophagy initiation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.16.670665v1

Absolutely honoured to see our work featured on this month’s cover! 🎉🧬

Artwork by the incredibly talented @doroteaartscience.bsky.social 👇

WSTF nuclear autophagy regulates chronic but not acute inflammation @nature.com @terjejohansen.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Regulation of somatic hypermutation by higher-order chromatin structure Schoeberl et al. employ Tri-C to unravel the higher-order chromatin architecture underpinning the co-transcriptional mutagenesis of immunoglobulin genes during antibody maturation in human B cells. They provide evidence that antibody maturation occurs within a dynamic multiway hub wherein transcription and mutation of different genes occur non-competitively.

Online Now: Regulation of somatic hypermutation by higher-order chromatin structure Online now:

Thanks for selecting me among all the amazing posters at the symposium :D Also congrats to all other winners 👏

‪We're excited to announce that registration for the "Tiles of Life" Student Symposium is now open!
With a fantastic lineup of guest speakers, complemented by SMICH student talks, we’re set for two inspiring days. Don’t miss out—register now! 🚀🎓✨

#TilesofLife #studentsymposium #SMICH

Phase separation of initiation hubs on cargo is a trigger switch for selective autophagy - Nature Cell Biology Licheva, Pflaum, Babic, Mancilla et al. show that low-affinity cargo–receptor interactions promote autophagy receptor mobility and condensation of the scaffold protein Atg11 to trigger initiation hub ...

🚨 Paper Alert! We’re starting off the year with our latest publication in @naturecellbiology.bsky.social on the role of phase separation in selective autophagy initiation!
This work was a close and exciting collaboration with
@wilflinglab.bsky.social

🔗 nature.com/articles/s41...
Here's a thread👇

I‘d also be happy to join the community :D

🚨 Out now! Bernd Bauer and the Martens lab reveal in EMBO Journal how the cargo receptor TAX1BP1 faciliates the switch from cargo collection to autophagosome formation, a process crucial for successful aggrephagy - the cell's way of recycling aggregated proteins ♻️ More ➡️ tinyurl.com/35ev5pvv

Check out this list of ubiquitin and Ubl profiles to follow. Repost if you want me to add you to it. Let’s create a good community here ☁️ go.bsky.app/3VPQofn