Cell biology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The WD40 domain of the SCFCdc4ubiquitin ligase targets substrates via multiple phosphorylated degron motifs. The authors define a second degron-binding WD40 pocket that imparts a negative allosteric effect on binding to the primary pocket, and thereby enables the dynamic exchange of bound degrons.

    • Veronika Csizmok
    • , Stephen Orlicky
    •  & Julie D. Forman-Kay

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Germinal centre (GC) reactions are driven by T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and their dysregulation can cause autoimmune disease. Here the authors show that the orphan receptor DR6 is a Tfh cell marker that binds syndecan-1 on GC B cells driving autoimmunity in lupus-prone mice.

    • Daisuke Fujikura
    • , Masahiro Ikesue
    •  & Toshimitsu Uede

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Autophagy must be tightly controlled at each step of the process. Here the authors show that HS1BP3 binds phosphatidic acid (PA) at autophagosome precursors and negatively regulates autophagosome formation by modulating the activity and localization of the PA-producing enzyme phospholipase D1.

    • Petter Holland
    • , Helene Knævelsrud
    •  & Anne Simonsen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The tumour suppressor p120-catenin (p120) controls cadherin-based adhesion. Here, the authors demonstrate that p120 regulates cytokinesis through binding to the centralspindlin component MKLP1 and controls RhoA activity. Loss of p120 in cancer induces multinucleation and chromosomal instability, independent of cell-cell adhesion.

    • Robert A.H. van de Ven
    • , Jolien S. de Groot
    •  & Patrick W.B. Derksen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Aurora B abscission checkpoint is activated when DNA is retained in the cleavage furrow on completion of anaphase. Here the authors show that PKCɛ directly phosphorylates Aurora B triggering a switch in Aurora B substrate specificity to elicit Borealin phosphorylation and abscission checkpoint exit.

    • Tanya Pike
    • , Nicola Brownlow
    •  & Peter J. Parker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The kinase RAF1 usually exerts pro-tumorigenic functions promoting proliferation in RAS-driven cancers. Here, the authors using a mouse model of HCC and clinical data describe an unexpected oncosuppressor role of RAF1 in hepatocarcinoma development linked to a gp130-dependent Stat3 activation and YAP1 regulation.

    • Ines Jeric
    • , Gabriele Maurer
    •  & Manuela Baccarini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vasculature is denser in soft than in stiff tissues. Kragl et al. suggest a mechanistic link between biomechanical tissue properties and vascularization by showing that integrin-linked kinase reduces the contractile forces of the cell cortex in endocrine pancreatic cells, facilitating their adhesion to blood vessels and enabling pancreatic islet vascularization.

    • Martin Kragl
    • , Rajib Schubert
    •  & Eckhard Lammert

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mammalian eggs release cortical granules to avoid being fertilized by more than a single sperm as polyspermy results in nonviable embryos. Here, the authors describe the mechanism driving translocation of the granules to the cortex in the mouse egg and show this process is essential to prevent polyspermy.

    • Liam P. Cheeseman
    • , Jérôme Boulanger
    •  & Melina Schuh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mitochondrial protein import machinery is crucial for eukaryotes but little is known about its evolutionary origin. Here, the authors characterize the translocase of the inner membrane (TIM) in trypanosomes, showing that it contains two rhomboid-like proteins essential for protein import.

    • Anke Harsman
    • , Silke Oeljeklaus
    •  & André Schneider

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondria have a controversial role in cancer. Here, the authors demonstrate the reprogramming of a neuronal network of mitochondrial trafficking in tumor cells, and identify Syntaphilin as a key protein that suppresses organelle dynamics thereby blocking chemotaxis and metastasis in mice.

    • M. Cecilia Caino
    • , Jae Ho Seo
    •  & Dario C. Altieri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) proliferation is crucial for regeneration after hypoxic lesions in mice, a model of diffuse white matter injury of premature infants. Here, the authors show that the histone deacetylase Sirt1 is a Cdk2-dependent mediator of OPC proliferation and OPC response to hypoxia.

    • Beata Jablonska
    • , Marcin Gierdalski
    •  & Vittorio Gallo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Live cell super-resolution imaging requires a high temporal resolution, which remains a challenge. Here the authors combine photo-activated localization microscopy (PALM) with super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI) to achieve high spatiotemporal resolution and quantitative imaging of focal adhesion dynamics.

    • Hendrik Deschout
    • , Tomas Lukes
    •  & Aleksandra Radenovic

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polypeptide N-acetyl-galactosaminyltransferases (GALNTs) are associated with cancer, but their function in organ-specific metastasis is unclear. Here the authors show that GALNT14 promotes breast cancer metastasis to the lung by enhancing the initiation of metastatic colonies and subsequent growth.

    • Ki-Hoon Song
    • , Mi So Park
    •  & Mi-Young Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA damage arising from replication stress is well studied, but the effect of mitotic errors on genome integrity is less understood. Here the authors knock down 47 mitotic regulators and record how they impact on DNA breakage events, providing a resource for future studies on the relation between cell division and genome integrity.

    • Ronni S. Pedersen
    • , Gopal Karemore
    •  & Claudia Lukas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanosensation by biological membranes can be relayed by mechanical tension to ion channels. Here the authors show that phospholipase D (PLD) is activated by mechanical disruption of lipid rafts which allows PLD to mix with its substrate in the lipid membrane, and propose a kinetic model of force transduction.

    • E. Nicholas Petersen
    • , Hae-Won Chung
    •  & Scott B. Hansen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bone development and vascularization are coupled events that share many molecular mechanisms. Here the authors identify osteoblast-secreted Cxcl9 as an inhibitory regulator of angiogenesis and osteogenesis, and show that mTORC1 signaling and STAT1 are critical upstream mediators of the cytokine expression.

    • Bin Huang
    • , Wenhao Wang
    •  & Xiaochun Bai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanoscopy of non-adherent cells is currently not possible, due to their movement in solution. Here the authors immobilize and manipulate fixedE. coli by multiple optical traps; their holographic optical tweezers enable dSTORM imaging of orthogonal planes via 3D realignment of the sample.

    • Robin Diekmann
    • , Deanna L. Wolfson
    •  & Thomas Huser

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hypoxia-induced transcriptional responses mediated by HIF-1a are regulated through the ubiquitin-dependent pathway to control HIF-1a stability. Here the authors show that the deubiquitinase HAUSP modulates the stability of HIF-1a and K63-polyubiquitinated HAUSP serves as an anchor for HIF-1a-induced gene transcription.

    • Han-Tsang Wu
    • , Yi-Chih Kuo
    •  & Kou-Juey Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The CCT complex, a key player in the chaperone machinery, has been implicated in Huntington’s disease. Pavelet al. show that CCT2/5/7 also play an essential role in autophagosome degradation, and that the aggregation of proteins upon CCT2/5/7 depletion is primarily a consequence of impaired autophagy.

    • Mariana Pavel
    • , Sara Imarisio
    •  & David C. Rubinsztein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How plasma membrane Orai Ca2+ channels are activated by STIM proteins to activate Ca2+signals is still not fully known. Here the authors show that a nexus region located at the Orai1 C-terminus allows channel gating without a direct interaction of STIM1 with the channel pore.

    • Yandong Zhou
    • , Xiangyu Cai
    •  & Donald L. Gill

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) maintains myelin-axon spacing. Here, the authors report the crystal structures of the MAG full ectodomain in complex with oligosaccharide, and use additional assays to provide insights into the mechanism of MAG-mediated signalling.

    • Matti F. Pronker
    • , Suzanne Lemstra
    •  & Bert J. C. Janssen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Formation and reinforcement of E-cadherin-mediated adhesion depends on intracellular trafficking and interactions with the actin cytoskeleton, but how these are coordinated is not known. Here the authors conduct a focused phenotypic screen to identify new pathways regulating cell–cell junction homeostasis.

    • J. C. Erasmus
    • , S. Bruche
    •  & V. M. M. Braga

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Endocytosis of the type I interferon receptor (IFNAR) is required for JAK/STAT signalling. Here the authors show that the internalized IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 subunits are differentially sorted by the retromer complex at the early endosome and this controls JAK/STAT signalling and gene transcription.

    • Daniela Chmiest
    • , Nanaocha Sharma
    •  & Christophe Lamaze

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The correct folding of proteins often requires the intervention molecular chaperones, which can occur co-translationally. Here the authors identify elements of yeast Ssb (Hsp70) that mediate ribosomal binding, and suggest a mechanism that directs efficient interaction of Ssb with the nascent chain.

    • Marie A. Hanebuth
    • , Roman Kityk
    •  & Elke Deuerling

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) is a hallmark of hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia type 2, a disease caused by mutations in BMP receptor ALK1. Ola et al. show that AVM can be caused by blocking BMP9 and BMP10 in mice, leading to increased VEGF and PI3K activity, and that pharmacologic inhibition of PI3K prevents AVM development.

    • Roxana Ola
    • , Alexandre Dubrac
    •  & Anne Eichmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The water channel AQP2 mediates the concentration of urine in the kidney. Here Ando et al. show that Wnt5 promotes collecting duct permeability by regulating AQP2 expression and localization through activation of the calmodulin/calcineurin signalling pathway.

    • Fumiaki Ando
    • , Eisei Sohara
    •  & Shinichi Uchida

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nucleoplasmic translocation of NPM1 is integral to nucleolar stress sensing. Here, the authors show that nucleolar oxidation is a general cellular stress response, and that oxidation-related glutathionylation of NPM1 triggers its translocation and facilitates p53 activation.

    • Kai Yang
    • , Ming Wang
    •  & Jing Yi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ability of cancer cells to survive in anchorage-independent conditions correlates with cancer aggressiveness. Here, by screening a human whole-genome shRNA library for the ability of osteosarcoma cells to form spheres in vitro, the authors identify a role for TMIGD3 isoform 1 in suppressing the metastatic potential of osteosarcoma.

    • Swathi V. Iyer
    • , Atul Ranjan
    •  & Tomoo Iwakuma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The tumour microenvironment can be modulated to sensitize tumours to the effects of therapy. Here the authors show that radiation induced miR-103 downregulates TREX1 in endothelial cells, decreases angiogenesis and leads to the secretion of proinflammatory mediators that reduce tumour growth.

    • RaeAnna Wilson
    • , Cristina Espinosa-Diez
    •  & Sudarshan Anand

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Renal tumour-initiating cells (T-ICs) contribute to tumour initiation and progression. Here, the authors show that lncARSR regulates TICs by blocking LATS1-induced YAP phosphorylation facilitating YAP nuclear translocation, which promotes lncARSR transcription, thus forming a feed-forward circuit to promote TIC expansion.

    • Le Qu
    • , Zhenjie Wu
    •  & Linhui Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    VPS15 is known as a VPS34-associated protein that functions in intracellular trafficking and autophagy. Here the authors identify a role for VPS15 in ciliopathy and ciliary phenotypes, and show that it interacts with GM130 and functions in IFT20-dependent cis-Golgi to cilium trafficking.

    • Corinne Stoetzel
    • , Séverine Bär
    •  & Hélène Dollfus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multivesicular bodies (MVB) are endosomal compartments that can either fuse with the plasma membrane for the secretion of exosomes, or fuse with the lysosome and be degraded along with their contents. Here, the authors show that ISGylation of the MVB protein TSG101 impairs exosome secretion and acts as a regulator of MVB fate.

    • Carolina Villarroya-Beltri
    • , Francesc Baixauli
    •  & Francisco Sánchez-Madrid

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diabetes is characterized by prolonged hyperglycaemia and tissue damage in pancreatic islets. Here, Brereton et al. show that chronic high glucose levels lead to glycogen accumulation in β-cells, associated with reduced autophagy, impaired metabolism, insulin granule depletion and apoptosis.

    • Melissa F. Brereton
    • , Maria Rohm
    •  & Frances M. Ashcroft

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Robo4 is a transmembrane protein that regulates vascular permeability. Zhang et al. now reveal the mechanism of Robo4 action and show that Robo4 and UncB are required for VEGF-mediated regulation of vascular barrier by suppressing VEGF-induced phosphorylation of its receptor Vegfr2 on Y949.

    • Feng Zhang
    • , Claudia Prahst
    •  & Anne Eichmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During vascular development, fibronectin (FN) is polymerized at the basolateral side of endothelial cells. Here Mana et al. propose a model where PPFIA1 drives recycling of the FN receptor, a5β1 integrin, to the cell surface and enables polar secretion and fibrillogenesis of newly synthesized FN.

    • Giulia Mana
    • , Fabiana Clapero
    •  & Donatella Valdembri

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Accumulated damage to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) occurs during the ageing process and neurodegenerative disease. Here, the authors show that mtDNA copy number increases in an age-dependent manner in substantia nigra of healthy individuals, but not in individuals with Parkinson disease.

    • Christian Dölle
    • , Irene Flønes
    •  & Charalampos Tzoulis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ubiquitin-proteasome system is thought to be the primary regulator of centrosome number. Here, Watanabe et al. show that selective autophagy also plays a role in regulating centrosome number via p62-dependent recruitment of centrosomal protein 63 to autophagosomes.

    • Yuichiro Watanabe
    • , Shinya Honda
    •  & Shigeomi Shimizu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atherosclerosis is caused by low-density lipoprotein (LDL) buildup in the vessel wall, a process thought to be mediated by LDL receptor alone. Here, the authors show that the endothelium can uptake LDL via ALK1, a TGFβ signalling receptor, suggesting new therapies for blocking LDL accumulation in the vessel wall.

    • Jan R. Kraehling
    • , John H. Chidlow
    •  & William C. Sessa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is a key process in tumorigenesis but little is known about the molecular mechanism regulating such process at the translational level. Here, the authors identify a subset of mRNAs important for this process that are specifically modulated by the RNA-binding protein CELF1.

    • Arindam Chaudhury
    • , Shebna Cheema
    •  & Joel R. Neilson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    mTORC1 is known to mediate the signalling activity of amino acids. Here, the authors combine modelling with experiments and find that amino acids acutely stimulate mTORC2, IRS/PI3K and AMPK, independently of mTORC1. AMPK activation through CaMKKβ sustains autophagy under non-starvation conditions.

    • Piero Dalle Pezze
    • , Stefanie Ruf
    •  & Kathrin Thedieck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Activation of hepatic stellate cells is a critical event in the development of fibrosis, which is driven by TGF-beta and inhibited by IFN-gamma. Here Wu et al. show that the RNA binding protein CUGBP1 is increased by TGF-beta signalling and promotes IFN-gamma mRNA degradation.

    • Xingxin Wu
    • , Xudong Wu
    •  & Qiang Xu

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