Volume 13 Issue 8, August 2012

BUBR1 is a pseudokinase and uses its kinase domain for structural integrity.

HP1Swi6 binding with heterochromatic mRNAs triggers its dissociation from chromatin to promote mRNA decay.

β-catenin regulates the expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit TERT.

p53 triggers necrosis by inducing the opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP).

α-catenin and centralspindlin control RHO signalling at adherens junctions.

SCUBE2 facilitates the release of lipid-modified sonic hedgehog from the plasma membrane.

Conly Rieder and colleagues demonstrated in 1995 that one unattached chromosome is sufficient to prevent sister chromatid separation in mitosis.

Successful abscission — the final stage of cell division — involves the precise coordination of different events, culminating in the separation of two daughter cells. Endocytic and secretory vesicle trafficking, ESCRT-mediated scission and signalling through mitotic kinases have emerged as key players in this process.

The conservation and prevalence of inactive homologues in most enzyme families suggests that they may have significant functions that have been largely overlooked. Mechanistic understanding and evolutionary lessons are now emerging from the study of a broad range of such 'dead' enzymes including the recently discovered iRhoms.

The identification of an hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)-mediated post-translational modification (protein sulfhydration) has provided novel insights into H₂S signalling, which controls many cellular functions. As a result, a new research area has arisen that investigates how metabolic stress and other environmental signals influence protein function through Cys modification by H₂S.

Ubiquitin can form eight structurally distinct chain types. Recent advances have elucidated the mechanisms of linkage-specific chain assembly, recognition and hydrolysis. The cellular roles of the six 'atypical' ubiquitin chains (linked via Lys6, Lys11, Lys27, Lys29, Lys33 or Met1 of ubiquitin) are beginning to emerge, highlighting how they can each act as independent post-translational modifications.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells use a complex network of genetic and epigenetic pathways to maintain a delicate balance between self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. Studies using high-throughput genomic tools suggest that there is extensive crosstalk among epigenetic pathways that function at the level of DNA, histone and nucleosome. Mapping of higher-order chromatin structures and chromatin–nuclear matrix interactions provides insights into the three-dimensional organization of the genome and can reveal new rules of gene regulation.