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The mechanisms regulating the import of proteins into peroxisomes share surprising similarities with those controlling the degradation of proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum. These unexpected parallels may result from the common molecular machinery used to tag substrates and drive their removal from the membrane.
Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) have progressively added domains and motifs that have no connection to aminoacylation. These additions equip aaRSs with new functions and correlate with the appearance of new biological processes (such as a circulatory system) during the course of evolution.
Recent studies suggest that the spindle matrix provides a conserved strategy to coordinate the segregation of genetic material and the partitioning of other cellular contents in open, partially open and closed mitosis.
Current descriptions of eukaryotic chemotaxis focus on how extracellular signals (chemoattractants) cause new pseudopods to form. However, reinterpretation of recent data suggests a 'pseudopod-centred' explanation, whereby most pseudopods form without exogenous signals and chemoattractants only bias the position and rate of pseudopod growth.
GW182 proteins are key components of microRNA silencing complexes in animals, although their precise molecular function has been poorly understood. Recent findings indicate that they promote gene silencing by interfering with cytoplasmic poly(A)-binding protein 1 (PABPC1) function during translation and mRNA stabilization — a mode of action similar to that of PABP-interacting protein 2 (PAIP2).
Neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the accumulation of intracellular or extracellular protein aggregates that form because of protein misfolding. These aggregates are capable of crossing cellular membranes and can thereby directly contribute to the propagation of neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis, which might spread in a 'prion-like' manner.
A contractile ring of actin filaments and myosin II generates the force that constricts the cleavage furrow of animal cells, leading to cytokinesis. Studies in fission yeast have increased our understanding of the mechanisms of cytokinesis, which are likely to be conserved in other organisms.
The cytoskeleton is a dynamic fibrous network that has essential roles in the generation and regulation of cell architecture. It has also evolved as a scaffold that anchors various biochemical pathways, and might participate in the spatial organization and regulation of translation.
