EU-LIFE charter of independent life science research institutes.

The diverse range of organizations contributing to the global research ecosystem is believed to enhance the overall quality and resilience of its output. Mid-sized autonomous research institutes, distinct from universities, play a crucial role in this landscape. They often lead the way in new research fields and experimental methods, including those in social and organizational domains, which are vital for driving innovation. The EU-LIFE alliance was established with the goal of fostering excellence by developing and disseminating best practices among European biomedical research institutes. As directors of the 15 EU-LIFE institutes, we have spent a decade comparing and refining our processes. Now, we are eager to share the insights we've gained. To this end, we have crafted this Charter, outlining 10 principles we deem essential for research institutes to flourish and achieve ground-breaking discoveries. These principles, detailed in the Charter, encompass excellence, independence, training, internationality and inclusivity, mission focus, technological advancement, administrative innovation, cooperation, societal impact, and public engagement. Our aim is to inspire the establishment of new institutes that adhere to these principles and to raise awareness about their significance. We are convinced that they should be viewed a crucial component of any national and international innovation strategies.

Time for change in research careers: We as research organizations doing everything we can for postdocs?: Are we as research organizations doing everything we can for postdocs?

Postdocs are at a challenging step in the career ladder and research organisations could do more to help them along the way.

Involving society in science: Reflections on meaningful and impactful stakeholder engagement in fundamental research.

Open Science calls for transparent science and involvement of various stakeholders. Here are examples of and advice for meaningful stakeholder engagement.

Conjugation of human topoisomerase 2 alpha with small ubiquitin-like modifiers 2/3 in response to topoisomerase inhibitors: cell cycle stage and chromosome domain specificity.

Type 2 topoisomerases, in particular the alpha isoform in human cells, play a key role in cohesion and sister chromatid separation during mitosis. These enzymes are thus vital for cycling cells and are obvious targets in cancer chemotherapy. Evidence obtained in yeast and Xenopus model systems indicates that conjugation of topoisomerase 2 with small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins is required for its mitotic functions. Here, we provide biochemical and cytologic evidence that topoisomerase 2 alpha is conjugated to SUMO-2/3 during interphase and mitosis in response to topoisomerase 2 inhibitors and "poisons" (ICRF-187, etoposide, doxorubicin) that stabilize catalytic intermediates (cleavage complexes, closed clamp forms) of the enzyme onto target DNA. During mitosis, SUMO-2/3-modified forms of topoisomerase 2 alpha localize to centromeres and chromosome cores/axes. However, centromeres are unresponsive to inhibitors during interphase. Furthermore, formation of topoisomerase 2 alpha-SUMO-2/3 conjugates within mitotic chromosomes strongly correlates with incomplete chromatid decatenation and decreases progressively as cells approach the metaphase-anaphase transition. We also found that the PIASy protein, an E3 ligase for SUMO proteins, colocalizes with SUMO-2/3 at the mitotic chromosomal cores/axes and is necessary for both formation of SUMO-2/3 conjugates and proper chromatid segregation. We suggest that the efficacy of topoisomerase inhibitors to arrest cells traversing mitosis may relate to their targeting of topoisomerase 2 alpha-SUMO-2/3 conjugates that concentrate at mitotic chromosome axes and are directly involved in chromatid arm separation.

Human topoisomerase IIalpha: targeting to subchromosomal sites of activity during interphase and mitosis.

Mammalian topoisomerase IIalpha (topo IIalpha) plays a vital role in the removal of topological complexities left on DNA during S phase. Here, we developed a new assay to selectively identify sites of catalytic activity of topo IIalpha with subcellular resolution. We show that topo IIalpha activity concentrates at replicating heterochromatin in late S in a replication-dependent manner and at centric heterochromatin during G2 and M phases. Inhibitor studies indicate that this cell cycle-dependent concentration over heterochromatin is sensitive to chromatin structure. We further show that catalytically active topo IIalpha concentrates along the longitudinal axis of mitotic chromosomes. Finally, we found that catalytically inert forms of the enzyme localize predominantly to splicing speckles in a dynamic manner and that this pool is differentially sensitive to changes in the activities of topo IIalpha itself and RNA polymerase II. Together, our data implicate several previously unsuspected activities in the partitioning of the enzyme between sites of activity and putative depots.