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Bera et al. demonstrate that increased viscosity of the surrounding fluid promotes cell migration, supporting tumour cell dissemination and tissue colonization in vivo.
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.
Elizabeth Chen looks back on the work by Beatrice Mintz and Wilber Baker (1967) that settled the debate on the origin of multinucleation in skeletal muscle cells.
During mammalian development, certain regulatory-gene promoters acquire both histone modifications associated with gene activation and with gene repression (bivalent chromatin), which is key to cell-lineage specification. Recent work has expanded our understanding of the molecular basis of bivalent chromatin and its roles in development and cancer.
Fidelity of meiosis in human oocytes can be compromised, leading to egg aneuploidy and impaired embryo development, which increase with advanced maternal age. Recent studies have shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying aberrant chromosome segregation during oocyte meiosis and the impact of ageing on this process.
Stem cell function declines during ageing, resulting in the loss of tissue integrity and health deterioration. Ageing is associated with defects in the maintenance of stem cell quiescence and cell differentiation ability, clonal expansion and infiltration of immune cells in the niche. This Review discusses the mechanisms underlying ageing in stem cells and their niches, and potential rejuvenation strategies.
The generation of membrane curvature is essential for the formation of membrane tubules, sheets and vesicles, and hence, underlies membrane trafficking events. Various protein-based mechanisms function in membrane bending, and these appear to be organized in time and space by protein coats, including clathrin, caveolar coat complex, and COPI and COPII coats.
