Research Highlights in 2022

Zhang et al. report that angiogenesis in the chick embryo is supported by migrasomes — recently described organelles produced by migrating cells.

Cockburn et al. report that cells exiting the epidermal stem cell layer show a gradual progression of transcriptional changes during differentiation and retain the ability to divide once differentiation-committed.

The oncoprotein MYC undergoes multimerization to limit transcription–replication conflicts, thereby reducing the formation of DNA double-strand breaks in cancer cells.

Bera et al. demonstrate that increased viscosity of the surrounding fluid promotes cell migration, supporting tumour cell dissemination and tissue colonization in vivo.

Malka et al. uncover thousands of 5′ uncapped and polyadenylated transcripts (5′ UPTs) and describe their biogenesis through the alternative polyadenylation pathway. 5′ UPTs contribute to the proteome as non-canonical peptides with likely diverse biological functions.

Reyes et al. show that fibroblasts with properties of cellular senescence are present in healthy epithelial tissues and — by upregulating the senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP) — they support stem-cell function and tissue repair.

Zheng et al. show that calcium transients at the endoplasmic reticulum surface trigger condensation of FIP200 and the formation of ULK1 assemblies for autophagosome biogenesis.

Tan and Finkel report a novel phosphoinositide-initiated membrane tethering and lipid transport (PITT) pathway that is crucial for lysosome membrane repair.

DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) is important for replication-fork reversal under replication stress, and its inhibition can abolish PARP-inhibitor resistance in cancer cells.

Kalkavan et al. show how drug-tolerant persister cells evade apoptosis by release of sublethal cytochrome c and activation of the integrated stress response.

Steinhorst et al. show how calcium signal induced by salt stress is ‘decoded’ by plant roots to provide systemic response and to increase salt tolerance.

Yang, Zhu et al. describe temperature-dependent structural conformations of COOLAIR lncRNA and their impact on flowering time.

Translation reprogramming in plants in response to innate-immunity induction relies on a novel cap-independent translation pathway.

Cheng, Mittnenzweig et al. demonstrate the cellular role of the major DNA demethylation machinery, ten-eleven translocation (TET) dioxygenases, in early mammalian development.

Kirova et al. demonstrate that reactive oxygen species signals are integrated into cell cycle control through a direct interaction with cyclin-dependent kinase 2.

Sladitschek-Martens show that reduced activity of key cellular mechanosensors, transcription co-activators YAP/TAZ, is an important driver of ageing of stromal and contractile cells, leading to cell senescence.

Zhang et al. show that in fungal and plant cells CO₂ sensing involves liquid–liquid phase separation of PP2C phosphatases.

The non-coding RNA 7S inhibits transcription initiation in mitochondria by preventing the RNA polymerase from interacting with promoter DNA and transcription factors.

Rensvold et al. provide a resource to characterize the function of mitochondrial proteins and to facilitate the discovery of disease-relevant mutations.

XIST loss causes partial gene reactivation at the inactive X chromosome, resulting in Mediator-dependent expansion of adult mammary stem cells and tumorigenesis.