Select Publications

HR Thiam Lab

Aidan T. Cabral+, Manasi Sawant+, Minwoo Kang, Xie Liangqi, Hawa Racine Thiam* (2025). Chromatin is a long-range force generator that regulates plasma membrane tension and cell integrity independently of gene expression. bioRxiv; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.02.680155.

Jörg Renkawitz*, Allen Yesin, Janina Kroll, Aidan T. Cabral, Sarah D’Annunzio, and Hawa Racine Thiam*(2026). Nuclear mechanobiology rules immune cells’ functions: from differentiation to cell trafficking and pathogen killing. Nucleus; doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/19491034.2025.2590843.

Chew Chai, Eliya Sultan, Souradeep R. Sarkar, Lihan Zhong, Dania Nanes Sarfati, Orly Gershoni-Yahalom, Christine Jacobs-Wagner, Hawa Racine Thiam, Benyamin Rosental, Bo Wang (2025). Explosive cytotoxicity of ‘ruptoblasts’ bridges hormonal surveillance and immune defense. bioRxiv 2025.03.28.645876; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.03.28.645876.

Bingyu Yan, Jinwoo Lee, Suhas Srinivasan, Quanming Shi, Diana R. Dou, Srijana Davuluri, Swarna Nandyala, Adrianne Woods, Gwendolyn Leatherman, Yanding Zhao, Roman E. Reggiardo, Manasi Sawant, Hawa R. Thiam, Ami A. Shah, David F. Fiorentino, Lorinda S. Chung, Howard Y. Chang (2025). Autoantibody hotspots reveal origin and impact of immunogenic XIST ribonucleoprotein complex. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.16.633465.

Mekedlawit T. Setegne, Aidan T. Cabral, Anushri Tiwari, Fangfang Shen, Hawa Racine Thiam, Laura M. K. Dassama (2025). Engineering erythroid cell-specific protein-based delivery vehicles for the intracellular delivery of protein cargo. ACS Bio & Med Chem Au. doi:10.1021/acsbiomedchemau.4c00098.  PMID: 40255284.

*Corresponding authors; +shared first authors; HR Thiam lab members.

Prior to HR Thiam Lab

13) Pasapera AM, Heissler SM, Eto M, Nishimura Y, Fischer RS, Thiam HR, Waterman CM (2022). MARK2 regulates directed cell migration through modulation of myosin II contractility and focal adhesion organization. Curr Biol. PMID: 35594862.

12) Estabrook ID, Thiam HR, Piel M, Hawkins RJ. (2021); Calculation of the force field required for nucleus deformation during cell migration through constrictions. PLoS Comput Biol. PMID: 34029312. (Developed a computational modelling approach to calculate the value and distribution of mechanical forces required for nuclear deformation during cell migration under confinement).

11) Thiam H.R., Wong S.L., Qiu R., Kittisopikul M., Vahabikashi A., Goldman A.E., Goldman R.D., Wagner D.D., Waterman C.M (2020); Reply to Liu: The disassembly of the actin cytoskeleton is an early event during NETosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. PMID: 32943583.

10) Thiam HR, Wong SL, Wagner DD, Waterman CM. (2020). Cellular mechanisms of NETosis; Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. PMID: 32663035. (Synthetized information available across fields to illustrate the importance of studying NETosis from a cell biological and biophysical perspective. Reviewed the literature by discussing the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms required for DNA to translocate from the nucleus to the extracellular environment. Proposed that if we want to understand NETosis to the point of designing strategies to control this process, we need to determine the mechanisms of each of the cellular events leading to NETosis).

9) Thiam HR+, Wong SL+, Qiu R, Kittisopikul M, Vahabikashi A, Goldman AE, Goldman RD, Wagner DD*, Waterman CM*. (2020) NETosis proceeds by cytoskeleton and endomembrane disassembly and PAD4-mediated chromatin decondensation and nuclear envelope rupture. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. PMID: 32170015. (Used high resolution live cell imaging to identify a conserved sequence of cellular events leading to NETosis in three different neutrophil types (a human cell line, mouse, and human primary neutrophils) under three different NETosis stimulants (bacteria derivative, fungi, mimic of sterile inflammation). Demonstrated the critical role of PAD4 enzymatic activity and nuclear localization for efficient chromatin decompaction, nuclear envelope and plasma membrane rupture during NETosis). 

8) Sáez PJ, Barbier L, Attia R, Thiam HR, Piel M, Vargas P. (2018) Leukocyte Migration and Deformation in Collagen Gels and Microfabricated Constrictions; Methods Mol Biol. PMID: 29526010.

7) Raab M, Gentili M, de Belly H, Thiam HR, Vargas P, Jimenez AJ, Lautenschlaeger F, Voituriez R, Lennon-Duménil AM, Manel N, Piel M. (2016) ESCRT III repairs nuclear envelope ruptures during cell migration to limit DNA damage and cell death; Science 352(6283):359-62. PMID: 27013426.

6) H.R Thiam, P. Vargas, N. Carpi, C.L. Crespo, M. Raab, E. Terriac, Megan C. King, J. Jacobelli, A.S. Alberts, T. Stradal, A-M. Lennon-Dumenil, M. Piel. (2016) Perinuclear Arp2/3-driven actin polymerization enables nuclear deformation to facilitate cell migration through complex environments; Nat. Commun. 7:10997. PMID: 26975831. (Developed a novel microfabricated device to impose cell and nuclear deformation during cell migration. Demonstrated that the nucleus is the main limiting factor for immune cell migration under confinement and that dendritic cells form a branched actin network around the nucleus that locally ruptures the nuclear lamina and is required for nuclear deformation and subsequent cell migration under confinement) 

5) Vargas P, Chabaud M, Thiam HR, Lankar D, Piel M, Lennon-Dumenil AM. (2016) Study of dendritic cell migration using micro-fabrication.; J Immunol Methods 432:30-4. PMID: 26684937

4) Pablo Vargas, Paolo Maiuri, Marine Bretou, Pablo J. Sáez, Paolo Pierobon, Mathieu Maurin, Mélanie Chabaud, Danielle Lankar, Dorian Obino, Emmanuel Terriac, Matthew Raab, Hawa-Racine Thiam, Thomas Brocker, Susan M. Kitchen-Goosen, Arthur S. Alberts, Praveen Sunareni, Sheng Xia, Rong Li, Raphael Voituriez, Matthieu Piel and Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil. (2015) Innate control of actin nucleation determines two distinct migration behaviours in dendritic cells; Nat. Cell Biol. 18(1):43-53. PMID: 26641718.

3) D. Aubry, H. Thiam, M. Piel, R. Allena. (2015) A computational mechanics approach to assess the link between cell morphology and forces during confined migration; Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 14(1):143-57. PMID: 24895016.

2) Maiuri P, Rupprecht JF, Wieser S, Ruprecht V, Bénichou O, Carpi N, Coppey M, De Beco S, Gov N, Heisenberg CP, Lage Crespo C, Lautenschlaeger F, Le Berre M, Lennon-Dumenil AM, Raab M, Thiam HR, Piel M, Sixt M, Voituriez R. (2015) Actin flows mediate a universal coupling between cell speed and cell persistence; Cell 161(2):374-86. PMID: 25799384.

1) Allena R, Thiam H, Piel M, Aubry D. (2015) A mechanical model to investigate the role of the nucleus during confined cell migration; Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 18 Suppl 1:1868-9. PMID: 26259853.

+shared first authors; HR Thiam lab members.