Publications by Beat Fierz | EPFL Graph Search

Structural basis of SIRT7 nucleosome engagement and substrate specificity

Henning Paul-Julius Stahlberg, Beat Fierz, Dongchun Ni, Carlos Moreno Yruela, Babatunde Edukpe Ekundayo

Chromatin-modifying enzymes target distinct residues within histones to finetune gene expression profiles. SIRT7 is an NAD+-dependent deacylase often deregulated in cancer, which deacetylates either H3 lysine 36 (H3K36) or H3K18 with high specificity withi ...

NATURE PORTFOLIO2025

MagIC beads for scarce macromolecules

Beat Fierz, Carlos Moreno Yruela

Specialized magnetic beads that bind target proteins to a cryogenic electron microscopy grid make it possible to study the structure of protein complexes from dilute samples. ...

eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD2025

Peptide‐Carbazolyl Cyanobenzene Conjugates: Enabling Biomolecule Functionalization via Photoredox and Energy Transfer Catalysis

Jérôme Waser, Beat Fierz, Anne-Sophie Chauvin, Wei Cai, Xingyu Liu

Since their discovery in 2012, carbazolyl (iso)phthalonitrile derivatives (Cz(I)PN) have found significant applications as photocatalysts in organic chemistry. Herein, we introduce two efficient methods for incorporating carbazolyl cyanobenzenes into vario ...

Wiley2025

Single-molecule analysis reveals the mechanism of chromatin ubiquitylation by variant PRC1 complexes

Beat Fierz, Alexandra Teslenko

Chromatin regulation relies on “writer” enzymes that add posttranslational modifications to histone proteins. Variant polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) exists as several subtypes, which are “writers” of ubiquitylation on histone H2A K118 and K119, cruci ...

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)2025

The HP1 box of KAP1 organizes HP1α for silencing of endogenous retroviral elements in embryonic stem cells

Matteo Dal Peraro, Rudolf Hovius, Beat Fierz, Maria Josefina Marcaida Lopez

Repression of endogenous retroviral elements (ERVs) is facilitated by KAP1 (KRAB-associated protein 1)-containing complexes, however the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that binding of KAP1 to the major component of the heterochromatin ...

Springer Science and Business Media LLC2025

Semisynthesis of Isomerized Histone H4 Reveals Robustness and Vulnerability of Chromatin toward Molecular Aging

Beat Fierz

Proteins are subject to aging in the form of spontaneous, nonenzymatic post-translational modifications (PTMs). One such PTM is the formation of the β-linked isomer l-isoaspartic acid (isoAsp) from aspartic acid (Asp) or asparagine residues, which tends to ...

2025

Decoding Chromatin Ubiquitylation: A Chemical Biology Perspective

Beat Fierz, Pauline Franz

Since Strahl and Allis proposed the "language of covalent histone modifications", a host of experimental studies have shed light on the different facets of chromatin regulation by epigenetic mechanisms. Initially proposed as a concept for controlling gene ...

Academic Press Ltd- Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Revealing chromatin-specific functions of histone deacylases

Beat Fierz, Carlos Moreno Yruela

Histone deacylases are erasers of Nε-acyl-lysine post-translational modifications and have been targeted for decades for the treatment of cancer, neurodegeneration and other disorders. Due to their relatively promiscuous activity on peptide substrates in v ...

2024

A Site-Specific Click Chemistry Approach to Di-Ubiquitylate H1 Variants Reveals Position-Dependent Stimulation of the DNA Repair Protein RNF168

Beat Fierz, Pauline Franz

Ubiquitylation of histone H2A at lysines 13 and 15 by the E3 ligase RNF168 plays a key role in orchestrating DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair, which is often deregulated in cancer. RNF168 activity is triggered by DSB signaling cascades, reportedly thro ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2024

Synthesis of Fluorescent Cyclic Peptides via Gold(I)-Catalyzed Macrocyclization

Jérôme Waser, Aleksandra Radenovic, Beat Fierz, Nathan Cyprien Arsène Ronceray, Wei Cai, Xingyu Liu

Rapid and efficient cyclization methods that form structurally novel peptidic macrocycles are of high importance for medicinal chemistry. Herein, we report the first gold(I)-catalyzed macrocyclization of peptide-EBXs (ethynylbenziodoxolones) via C2-Trp C–H ...

2023