Oxidation that decided cell fate - Julia's paper is out in Molecular Cell

Have you ever wondered how hydrogen peroxide—the same molecule used to bleach hair or disinfect wounds—can decide whether your cells keep dividing or permanently stop?

In our latest paper in Molecular Cell the wonderful Julia Vorhauser established in a tour de force that started in Dresden and finsihed in London the first cell cycle–resolved redox proteome in human cells, revealing how protein oxidation dynamically changes as cells progress through the cell cycle.

Her dataset shows that oxidation is far from random — for many sites it follows precise cell cycle patterns. Focusing on the cancer-relevant cell cycle inhibitor p21, Julia demonstrated that oxidation of a single cysteine during G2 acts as a molecular switch: deciding whether cells continue proliferating or exit the cycle. Have a read look here for the details and listen to out lay AI podcast about the paper here.

Our cover submission depicts a flaming cell cycle with a structure of the CDK inhibitor p21 at its center, acting as the hand of a clock to illustrate cell cycle progression. The flames symbolize oxidation of key regulators revealed by our redox proteomics. One flame targets cysteine 41 (C41) in p21, marking its G2-phase oxidation. Ice beneath G1 represents a frozen state symbolizing cell cycle exit into senescence that is observed when p21 cannot be oxidized at C41. The image conveys how oxidation fine-tunes cell fate.

Artwork by Hinyuk Lai