Opinion in 2012

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  • An increasing number of proteins have been discovered that evade turnover and instead are maintained over a cell's lifetime. Accumulation of damage in these long-lived proteins may contribute to the ageing process.

    • Brandon H. Toyama
    • Martin W. Hetzer
    Opinion
  • Three surveillance pathways specialize in the degradation of mRNA molecules trapped in stalled translation complexes: the non-stop decay (NSD), the no-go decay (NGD) and the 18S-rRNA decay (18S-NRD) pathways. These quality control mechanisms degrade faulty mRNAs and contribute to maintaining the production of functional proteins.

    • Marc Graille
    • Bertrand Séraphin
    Opinion
  • Research on the cadherin–junctional actin interaction has focused on how the two physically interact. However, the actin cytoskeleton is dynamic, regulated by a network of proteins, so a broader perspective that takes this into account may provide new insights on cadherin cell–cell contacts and on the role of cadherins in disease.

    • Aparna Ratheesh
    • Alpha S. Yap
    Opinion
  • Forces transmitted through cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix adhesions control cell fate decisions. But how are mechanical cues translated into gene expression programmes? The transcriptional regulators YAP and TAZ have arisen as convergence points of mechanical and biochemical signals.

    • Georg Halder
    • Sirio Dupont
    • Stefano Piccolo
    Opinion
  • Membrane trafficking relies on changes in membrane identity, which are determined by RAB GTPases and phosphoinositides. Coordinated regulation of RABs and phosphoinositides, which is achieved by direct physical and functional interactions between their regulatory enzymes, is emerging as a central mechanism to ensure membrane trafficking fidelity.

    • Steve Jean
    • Amy A. Kiger
    Opinion
  • Metabolic signalling pathways and telomere shortening are both thought to, independently, have crucial roles in driving the ageing process. But links between these two processes suggest that they may converge on mitochondria to compromise energy maintenance, thereby driving ageing.

    • Ergün Sahin
    • Ronald A. DePinho
    Opinion
  • Increasing evidence suggests that cell-to-cell communication in mammals can occur through the exchange of genetic information, mainly in the form of microRNAs (miRNAs). This exchange can be mediated by extracellular vesicles such as exosomes through intimate membrane contacts between donor and acceptor cells, or a combination of both.

    • Maria Mittelbrunn
    • Francisco Sánchez-Madrid
    Opinion
  • Endocytic recycling, for some time considered to occur by default, is now emerging as an active sorting process. These studies are increasing our understanding of the physiological events that require recycling.

    • Victor W. Hsu
    • Ming Bai
    • Jian Li
    Opinion
  • Signalling is known to regulate metabolism, and it is becoming clear that this regulation is reciprocal, with signalling pathways being regulated by the availability of nutrient-sensitive modifications, such as acetylation and glycosylation. This tight link between signalling and metabolism allows cells to modulate their activities according to metabolic status.

    • Kathryn E. Wellen
    • Craig B. Thompson
    Opinion