Issues

Summary: A review of the ways different organisms utilize multiple mechanisms to position genes in the 3D space of their nucleus, and how this, in turn, can affect their activity and function.

Summary: MICAL proteins are oxidoreductases that depolymerize F-actin in various cellular processes. We describe the emerging roles of MICALs, together with Rab GTPases, in F-actin clearance and membrane trafficking during cytokinesis.

Highlighted Article: Upon treatment with splicing inhibitors, unspliced transcripts are exported to the cytoplasm by a mechanism dependent on ALYREF, and are degraded by an EJC-independent NMD pathway.

Summary: Multiple Wnts are co-expressed in various physiological and disease states. We show that coexpression of specific Wnt ligands synergistically activates β-catenin signaling with biological consequences.

Highlighted Article: Protein kinase A is necessary for gradient sensing and chemotaxis towards cAMP in Dictyostelium, in part, through the proper spatiotemporal regulation of key upstream chemoattractant signal transduction pathways.

Summary: We show that MCSF can directly modulating branching morphogenesis by controlling FGF expression levels and neural network development in a macrophage-independent manner.

Highlighted Article: MacroH2A links nucleosome composition to higher-order chromatin architecture, in part by mediating the interaction of heterochromatin repeats with the nuclear lamina.

Summary: Mice with pericyte-specific deletion of α6-integrin had reduced pericyte blood vessel coverage, increased vessel leakiness and abnormal blood vessel architecture. α6-integrin also controls pericyte responses to PDGF-BB.

Highlighted Article: We identify two E3 ubiquitin ligases, NEDD4 and MARCH8, as regulators of BST2 (tetherin) – a protein that restricts viral release; we thus provide further understanding of the mechanisms underlying BST2 turnover in cells.

Summary: Quantitative fluorescence microscopy shows that focal adhesions are composed of functional protein modules, which control distinct aspects of mechanotransduction.

Highlighted Article: Characterization of a novel yeast Zn²⁺-dependent endopolyphosphatase Ppn2 is presented. Together with Ppn1, Ppn2 provides the major vacuolar polyphosphatase activity of yeast, which supports growth under phosphate starvation.

Summary: The lysosomal kinesin-1 cargo adaptor SKIP is shown to interact with kinesin-1 via both its heavy and light chains. A new stepwise hierarchical model for kinesin-1 activation is proposed.

Summary: By using genome-editing-mediated tubulin isotype substitutions and depletion owing to RNAi, we demonstrate that different combinations of tubulin isotypes confer distinct properties to microtubule dynamics and mitotic spindle oscillation in C. elegans embryos.

Summary: We identify the region in IFT46 that is responsible for its basal body and ciliary localization. This sequence promotes interaction with IFT52, which recruits IFT46 to the basal body.

Summary: Characteristic physicochemical features of tail-anchored membrane proteins, based on the interplay between transmembrane domain hydrophobicity and tail charge, allow prediction of their subcellular localization.