Volume 6 Issue 8, August 2004

Disruption of post-translational modifications of histone proteins perturbs the proper pattern of gene expression and has the potential to result in diseases, such as cancer. A study implicating a new histone lysine methyltransferase in tumorigenesis further corroborates the emerging link between cancer and epigenetics.

Convergent extension — a key tissue movement during vertebrate embryogenesis — requires precise control of cell polarity, which is regulated through a planar cell polarity pathway that is conserved across invertebrates. The identification of two new factors regulating convergent extension suggests that vertebrates may have introduced intriguing modifications of the planar cell polarity pathway to regulate morphogenesis.

A potentially common, but poorly understood, mode of activation for the TRP family of cation channels is regulated translocation of the protein to the plasma membrane. The pathway underlying exocytosis of TRPC5 has now been outlined and demonstrates its importance for modulating neurite extension.

Cdc14 is a phosphatase that can antagonize CDK/cyclin cell-cycle functions. New insights from Caenorhabditis elegans show that CDC-14 is required to prevent cell-cycle entry during extended periods of developmentally regulated quiescence, and also clarify its role in creating the central mitotic spindle during anaphase.

Centromeres, specialized regions on chromosomes, are essential for accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. In fission yeast, the RNA interference machinery has a pivotal function in the assembly of centromeric heterochromatin, which mediates sister centromere cohesion. Studies in vertebrate cells now suggest that many aspects of this process are conserved.