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As most mitochondrial proteins are encoded in the nucleus, mitochondrial activity requires efficient communication between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. This is mediated by nucleus-to-mitochondria (anterograde), mitochondria-to-nucleus (retrograde) and mitonuclear feedback signalling, as well as the integrated stress response and extracellular communication, which regulate homeostasis and, consequently, healthspan and lifespan.
The ectopic expression of a defined set of transcription factors can experimentally reprogramme somatic cells into other cell types, including pluripotent cells. This method enables exploration of the molecular characteristics of pluripotency, cell specification, differentiation and cell fate stability, as well as their transcriptional and epigenetic regulation.
Recent advances in our understating of the molecular underpinnings of alternative primed- and naive-like pluripotent states in rodents and humans highlight potential functional benefits of naive pluripotency and identify key unanswered questions in this rapidly evolving field.
The use of cultured human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to model human diseases has revolutionized the ways in which we study monogenic, multigenic and epigenetic disorders, by overcoming some of the limitations of animal models. PSC-based disease models are generated using various strategies and can be used for the discovery of new drugs and therapies.
Ephrin ligands and Eph receptor Tyr kinases are transmembrane proteins that elicit short-distance cell–cell signalling when they interact. As both Eph kinases and ephrins exist in various isoforms and function as receptors or ligands, this signalling evokes versatile responses, which regulate a plethora of morphogenetic and homeostatic processes.
Learning more about the biochemistry of protein prenylation (modification by isoprenoid lipids) and its functional effects on target CAAX proteins has provided opportunities for therapeutic intervention in a range of human diseases.
Collective cell migration has a crucial role during morphogenesis, wound healing and tissue renewal, and it is involved in cancer spreading. Recent studies highlight the importance of intercellular communication in this process: migration is driven by leader cells at the front, and follower cells communicate between them and with the leaders to improve the efficiency of collective movement.
The versatile RNA-degradation functions of the RNA exosome complex make it crucial for RNA biogenesis. It is now emerging that the nuclear exosome is a specific regulator of gene expression in different physiological processes, and that it has a role in transcription regulation and in maintaining genome stability.
