Cellular Homeostasis and Recycling

In the Cellular Homeostasis and Recycling group, we aim to understand fundamental biological mechanisms in mammalian cells and investigate how these become perturbed in the development of cancer.

Our research

We focus on autophagy, an essential cellular degradation process, which promotes survival during conditions of stress and acts as a safe keeper of cellular homeostasis. We are especially interested in the functional interplay between RNA, translation and autophagy and the biological importance of this cross-regulation.

Group photo of the Cellular Homeostasis and Recycling team

We are an international and collaborative team with a strong drive to do excellent basic research. Technically, we apply a broad portfolio of biochemistry techniques combined with confocal, electron and high-throughput microscopy, RNA sequencing and proteomics-based studies. We collaborate both locally and broadly across the globe with several group specialized in areas complementary to our own. We have core expertise in the area of high-throughput screening, which has led to the discovery of a number of novel autophagy regulators, including non-coding RNAs and RNA-binding proteins, which regulate autophagy through post-transcriptional or translational control. We also study the capacity of autophagy to degrade RNA and related complexes.

Since the role of autophagy in cancer is highly complex and not yet well understood, a key aim of our research is to improve our molecular understanding of the autophagy pathway in order to open up new avenues for controlling the autophagic response in cancer cells. Ultimately, we hope that our molecular elucidations will help to guide further research on the role of autophagy in cancer and its exploitation in the clinic.

López AR, Jørgensen MH, Havelund JF, Arendrup FS, Kolapalli SP, Nielsen TM, Pais E, Beese CJ, Abdul-Al A, Vind AC, Bartek J, Bekker-Jensen S, Montes M, Galanos P, Faergeman N, Happonen L, Frankel LB: Autophagy-mediated control of ribosome homeostasis in oncogene-induced senescence. Cell Rep. 2023

Sakellariou D, Tiberti M, Kleiber TH, Blazquez L, López AR, Abildgaard MH, Lubas M, Bartek J, Papaleo E, Frankel LB: eIF4A3 regulates the TFEB-mediated transcriptional response via GSK3B to control autophagy. Cell Death and Differentiation 2021

Abildgaard MH, Brynjólfsdóttir SH, Frankel LB: The Autophagy-RNA Interplay: Degradation and Beyond. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 2020;45(10):845-857

Tiessen I, Abildgaard MH, Lubas M, Gylling HM, Steinhauer C, Pietras EJ, Diederichs S, Frankel LB, Lund AH: A high-throughput screen identifies the long non-coding RNA DRAIC as a regulator of autophagy. Oncogene 2019;38(26):5127-5141

Lubas M, Harder LM, Kumsta C, Tiessen I, Hansen M, Andersen JS, Lund AH, Frankel LB: eIF5A is required for autophagy by mediating ATG3 translation. EMBO Rep 2018;19(6):e46072

Frankel LB, Di Malta C, Wen J, Eskelinen EL, Ballabio A, Lund AH: A non-conserved miRNA regulates lysosomal function and impacts on a human lysosomal storage disorder. Nat Commun 2014;5:5840

Frankel LB, Wen J, Lees M, Hoyer-Hansen M, Farkas T, Krogh A, Jaattela M, Lund AH: microRNA-101 is a potent inhibitor of autophagy. EMBO J 2011;30(22):4628-4641

Group leader: Lisa Frankel

Lisa Frankel has a long-standing interest in molecular and cellular cancer biology, with the aim of understanding some of the basic errors that occur in our cells to drive cancer initiation and progression. Lisa Frankel has specialized in the field of RNA biology, with a focus on understanding the molecular actions of cancer-associated non-coding RNAs and RNA-binding proteins. In addition, Lisa has a strong background and keen interest in understanding the molecular regulation of autophagy and its dysregulation in cancer. The two fields of RNA biology and autophagy are combined in her research, to elucidate new aspects of molecular autophagy control and its interplay with RNA.

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Lisa performed her studies at the University of Copenhagen and at McGill University, Montreal. After her PhD and postdoc at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Lisa was awarded with a prestigious start-up grant from the Lundbeck Foundation, allowing the establishment of her independent group at the Danish Cancer Society Research Center in 2019.

ORCID: 0000-0001-7249-3607

X: @frankellisa2