Research Overview
The main goal of the Ashcroft laboratory is to understand the key cellular mechanisms involved in oxygen sensing and hypoxia signalling in mammalian cells. In particular, we have a strong interest in the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) family of transcription factors and their role in cancer, renal disease and cardiovascular disease.
Selected References
Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 deletion screen defines mitochondrial gene essentiality and novel routes for tumour cell viability in hypoxia. Thomas LW, Esposito E, Morgan RE, Price S, Young J, Williams SP, Maddalena LA, McDermott U, and Ashcroft M. Communications Biology. 2021 May 21;615:4. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02098-x.
CHCHD4 (MIA40) and the mitochondrial disulfide relay system. Biochem Soc Trans. 2021 Feb 26;49(1):17-27. doi: 10.1042/BST20190232.PMID: 33599699
CHCHD4 regulates tumour proliferation and EMT-related pheotypes, through respiratory chain-mediate metabolism. Thomas LW, Esposito C, Stephen JM, Costa ASH, Frezza C, Blacker TS, Szabadkai G, Ashcroft M. Cancer Metab. 2019 Jul 16;7:7. doi: 10.1186/s40170-019-0200-4.
Exploring the molecular interface between hypoxia-inducible factor signalling and mitochondria. Thomas LW, Ashcroft M. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2019 May;76(9):1759-1777. doi: 10.1007/s00018-019-03039-y.
CHCHD4 confers metabolic vulnerabilities to tumour cells though its control of the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Thomas LW, Stephen JM, Esposito C, Hoer S, Antrobus R, Ahmed A, Al-Habib H, Ashcroft M. Cancer Metab. 2019 Mar 6;7:2. doi: 10.1186/s40170-019-0194-y.
VHL-mediated regulation of CHCHD4 and mitochondrial function. Briston T., Stephen J., Thomas L.W., Esposito C., Chung Y.L., Syafruddin S., Turmaine M., Maddalena L., Greef B., Szabadkai G., Maxwell P.H., Vanharanta S. and Ashcroft M. Front Oncology (2018) 8: 388.
CHCHD4 regulates intracellular oxygenation and perinuclear distribution of mitochondria. Thomas L.W., Staples O., Turmaine M. and Ashcroft M. Front Oncology (2017) 7: 71.
News and Events
Congratulations and well done to Dr Jenna Stephen and Dr Hasan Al-Habib, who were each awarded their PhD during the…
Hasan Al-Habib, a final year MRC-DTP student supervised by Prof Ashcroft has been offered a competitive UKRI Policy Internship after…
Review published October 22, 2021
Review published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (Signaling Section), entitled ‘The Contextual Essentiality of Mitochondrial Genes in Cancer,…
Research paper accepted in principle (Jan 20, 2021), has been fully accepted for publication in Nature Communications Biology. Luke Thomas,…
Review Accepted January 6, 2021
Review accepted in Biochemical Society Transactions. Hasan Al-Habib and Margaret Ashcroft. CHCHD4 (MIA40) and the mitochondrial disulfide relay system (https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20190232).