Biochemistry articles within Nature Cell Biology

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  • Research Briefing |

    We show that the mitochondrial fission proteins MiD49 and MiD51 are activated by fatty acyl-coenzyme A (FA-CoA). FA-CoA binds in a previously identified pocket located within MiDs, inducing their oligomerization and ability to activate the dynamin DRP1, ultimately promoting mitochondrial fission. Activated MiDs synergize with mitochondrial fission factor (MFF) in stimulating DRP1 activity, leading us to hypothesize that MiDs act upstream of MFF during mitochondrial fission.

  • News & Views |

    When transcription by RNA polymerase II is stalled by ultraviolet-induced DNA damage, it recruits repair factors, leading to excision of the damaged site and DNA synthesis to fill the gap. Three new studies show that, for aldehyde-induced DNA crosslinks, repair is activated by the same factors, but without base excision and gap filling.

    • Marco Saponaro

  • News & Views |

    Biomolecular condensates are recognized for their ability to compartmentalize the cytoplasm without bounding membranes, but the degree to which they organize the cytoplasm has not been clear. A new study reveals that condensates at a scale of 100 nm are responsible for the organization of at least 18% of the cytoplasmic proteome.

    • Leshani Ahangama Liyanage
    •  & Jonathon A. Ditlev

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rai et al. report that CAMSAPs can bind to minus ends of microtubules attached to γ-tubulin ring complex (γ-TuRC) and drive microtubule release. They show that CDK5RAP2, but not CLASP2, inhibits CAMSAP-mediated microtubule release from γ-TuRC.

    • Dipti Rai
    • , Yinlong Song
    •  & Anna Akhmanova

  • News & Views |

    Activation of innate immunity has been linked to the progression of type 1 diabetes. A study now shows that overexpression of METTL3, a writer protein of the m6A machinery that modifies mRNA, restrains interferon-stimulated genes when expressed in pancreatic β-cells, identifying it as a promising therapeutic target.

    • Balasubramanian Krishnamurthy
    •  & Helen E. Thomas

  • News & Views |

    The bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila uses effectors — toxins — to facilitate pathogenesis within host cells. A recent study identifies dual mechanisms of the effector SidI as an inhibitor of translation elongation. The N-terminal domain mimics tRNA, whereas the C-terminal domain glycosylates the ribosome.

    • Saori Uematsu
    •  & Shu-Bing Qian

  • News & Views |

    Disruption of ribosome assembly results in the accumulation of aggregation-prone ‘orphaned’ ribosomal proteins that are toxic to cells if left unchecked. A study finds that cells store such ribosomal proteins during heat shock to enable a quick recovery of ribosome assembly after the removal of this stress.

    • Joshua J. Black
    •  & Rachel Green

  • Article |

    Tai et al. show that Hem25p—a mitochondrial glycine transporter required for haem biosynthesis—is also needed for isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP) transport into mitochondria and coenzyme Q synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    • Jonathan Tai
    • , Rachel M. Guerra
    •  & David J. Pagliarini

  • Research Briefing |

    Cells use various metabolic pathways to synthesize the building blocks for growth and proliferation. To ensure balanced growth, these biosynthetic processes must be tightly coordinated. We describe a molecular machinery that senses the cellular capacity to make lipids to regulate other biosynthetic processes — such as protein synthesis — accordingly.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nicastro, Brohée et al. find that the fatty acid synthesis intermediate malonyl-CoA inhibits mTORC1, showing mTORC1 senses the capacity of a cell to synthesise fatty acids and linking fatty acid generation with the overall biosynthetic output through mTORC1.

    • Raffaele Nicastro
    • , Laura Brohée
    •  & Constantinos Demetriades

  • News & Views |

    The nuclear envelope participates in the spatial regulation of DNA repair, but the mechanisms behind this are unclear. A study now reports that a nuclear envelope-localized nuclease, NUMEN/ENDOD1, guides the choice of DNA-repair pathway by inhibiting the resection of DNA ends and aberrant recombination, ensuring genome stability.

    • Sylvain Audibert
    •  & Evi Soutoglou

  • News & Views |

    The selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is the guardian of ferroptosis, a form of cell death earmarked by unrestrained lipid peroxidation. A new study shows that the metabolic enzyme creatinine kinase B (CKB) phosphorylates GPX4, which may influence the susceptibility of cancer cells to ferroptosis.

    • Eikan Mishima
    •  & Marcus Conrad

  • News & Views |

    The Mediterranean diet correlates with increased human lifespan; it is rich in foods with high levels of cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), such as olive oil. A study now shows that MUFAs stimulate a lipid droplet–peroxisome organelle network to decrease lipid oxidation and protect cell membranes during ageing.

    • Alexander Richard Mendenhall

  • News & Views |

    FG-nucleoporins of the nuclear pore complexes form a permeability barrier between the nucleus and the cytosol. FG-nucleoporins contain disordered regions and are prone to aggregation. Two studies identify the chaperone DNAJB6 as a key factor that prevents aggregation of FG-nucleoporins and assists in the biogenesis of nuclear pore complexes.

    • Janine Kirstein

  • Comment |

    Publicly shared metabolomics data may contain key answers to central questions in cell biology, but re-use of the data is complicated by the lack of standardized experimental and computational methods in the field. This Comment provides some tips to help ensure that shared metabolomics data are re-used appropriately.

    • Ethan Stancliffe
    •  & Gary J. Patti

  • News & Views |

    Aggregation of the RNA-binding protein TDP-43 is commonly observed in neurodegenerative disorders. A new study reveals that this process may be blocked by HSPB1, a small heat shock protein that can also regulate TDP-43 phase separation. This may be relevant to neurodegeneration, as loss of HSPB1 correlates with TDP-43 pathology.

    • Yuna M. Ayala
    •  & Zachary R. Grese

  • News & Views |

    NADPH levels serve as a biomarker of sensitivity to ferroptosis, but the regulators that detect cellular NADPH levels and modulate downstream ferroptosis responses are unknown. A study now identifies MARCHF6 in the ubiquitin system as an NADPH sensor that suppresses ferroptosis.

    • Chao Mao
    •  & Boyi Gan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diehl et al. show that imbalance among nucleotide species is not sensed by canonical metabolic regulatory pathways, causing excessive cell growth despite a DNA replication block. ATR is needed to increase nucleotide availability in normal S phase.

    • Frances F. Diehl
    • , Teemu P. Miettinen
    •  & Matthew G. Vander Heiden

  • News & Views |

    Primary cilia transduce cues, including Hedgehog (Hh) signals, and possess doublet microtubules that interact with kinesin motors. The kinesin KIF7 is important for Hh signalling and binds to GLI transcription factors. Haque et al. reveal that, surprisingly, GLI proteins bind a DNA-like part of KIF7 to promote their accumulation at the ciliary tip.

    • Dhivya Kumar
    •  & Jeremy F. Reiter

  • World View |

    Pride holds a special place in the hearts of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) individuals as a time to celebrate the progress we have made, and advocate for the advances yet to come. Here, I highlight ways in which the scientific community has had a crucial role in driving this progress, and provide a personal perspective on the importance of being open and proud of my identity as a gay cell biologist.

    • Yee-Hung Mark Chan

  • News & Views |

    The lysosome is an essential organelle that degrades extra- and intra-cellular components and acts as a signaling hub. A study in Caenorhabditis elegans now shows that the lysosome mediates inter-tissue communication from periphery to neurons to regulate lifespan via fatty acid breakdown and secretion.

    • Jason Wayne Miklas
    •  & Anne Brunet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Savini et al. report that lysosomal lipolysis in peripheral adipose depots produces polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAs and the lipid chaperone LBP-3 induce a nuclear hormone receptor, neuropeptide-mediated cascade in neurons to extend lifespan.

    • Marzia Savini
    • , Andrew Folick
    •  & Meng C. Wang

  • Technical Report
    | Open Access

    John Peter et al. develop METALIC (Mass tagging-Enabled TrAcking of Lipids In Cells), an approach to track interorganelle lipid flux in live cells using organelle-targeted enzymatic labelling of lipid subpopulations and mass spectrometry.

    • Arun T. John Peter
    • , Carmelina Petrungaro
    •  & Benoît Kornmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Zeziulia et al. identify the proton-activated Cl− channel ASOR/TMEM206 as necessary for shrinkage of macropinosomes, which is needed for downstream sorting events.

    • Mariia Zeziulia
    • , Sandy Blin
    •  & Thomas J. Jentsch

  • Perspective |

    Unfried and Ulitsky discuss recent advances in understanding how long noncoding RNAs expressed at much lower levels compared with their targets or cofactors overcome the stoichiometric disadvantages and exert their cellular functions.

    • Juan Pablo Unfried
    •  & Igor Ulitsky

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