Cell biology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Insulin secretion by β-cells is stimulated by glucose and is dependent on the induction of β-cell membrane depolarization, mainly driven by the closure of KATP channels, which in turn promotes voltage-gated Ca2+ channel opening. Here Kang et al. show that the volume-regulated anion channel, SWELL1, is involved in glucose-stimulated calcium increase and insulin secretion.

    • Chen Kang
    • , Litao Xie
    •  & Rajan Sah

  • Article
    | Open Access

    AMPK activation inhibits cardiac hypertrophy. Here the authors show that this occurs independently of previously proposed mechanisms and that AMPK controls the phosphorylation of the aminotransferase GFAT, thereby preventing cardiac hypertrophy through the reduction of protein O-GlcNAcylation.

    • Roselle Gélinas
    • , Florence Mailleux
    •  & Luc Bertrand

  • Article
    | Open Access

    S-palmitoylation regulation has been studied mostly in the cytosol and its role in mitochondria is unclear. Here the authors develop fluorescent mitochondria-targeted probes and find that depalmitoylation occurs in mitochondria and it’s influenced by alterations in mitochondrial lipid homeostasis.

    • Rahul S. Kathayat
    • , Yang Cao
    •  & Bryan C. Dickinson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Arrestins terminate signaling from GPCRs, but several lines of evidence suggest that they are also able to transduce signals independently of G proteins. Here, the authors systematically ablate G proteins in cell lines, and show that arrestins are unable to act as genuine signal initiators.

    • Manuel Grundmann
    • , Nicole Merten
    •  & Evi Kostenis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Adapter proteins assist clathrin coated pit assembly. Here, the authors combine native mass spectrometry, crystallography and SAXS measurements and show that the membrane–proximal domains of the adaptor proteins epsin and Sla2 form complexes mediated through phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate interfaces leading to assembly formation.

    • Maria M. Garcia-Alai
    • , Johannes Heidemann
    •  & Rob Meijers

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in signalling and specific targets is not fully understood. Here the authors perform a global proteomic analysis to delineate the yeast redoxome and show that increased levels of intracellular ROS caused by dysfunctional mitochondria decrease global protein synthesis.

    • Ulrike Topf
    • , Ida Suppanz
    •  & Bettina Warscheid

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rbfox1, a pro-survival RNA-binding protein, is expressed in a complex manner and mediates diverse developmental processes. Here, the authors observe alternative splicing of Rbfox1 and stress-dependent regulation by miR-980 in Drosophila ovaries and Rbfox1 localisation in ribonucleoprotein granules in human cells.

    • Mariya M. Kucherenko
    •  & Halyna R. Shcherbata

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neurodegeneration is increasingly associated with endolysosomal and autophagy dysfunction. Here, Miranda and colleagues show that disruption of neuronal PI3P/Vps34 signaling leads to endolysosomal membrane damage and aberrant release of undigested material in APP-CTF- and BMP-positive exosomes.

    • André M. Miranda
    • , Zofia M. Lasiecka
    •  & Gilbert Di Paolo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A pool of quality control proteins (QC) maintains the protein-folding homeostasis in the cell, but its quantitative analysis is challenging. Here the authors develop a FRET sensor based on the protein barnase, able to quantify QC holdase activity and its ability to suppress protein aggregation.

    • Rebecca J. Wood
    • , Angelique R. Ormsby
    •  & Danny M. Hatters

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cellular mechanisms underlying autophagy are conserved; however it is unclear how they evolved in higher organisms. Here the authors identify two oxidation-sensitive cysteine residues in the autophagy receptor SQSTM1/p62 in vertebrates which allow activation of pro-survival autophagy in stress conditions.

    • Bernadette Carroll
    • , Elsje G. Otten
    •  & Viktor I. Korolchuk

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) is expressed in many cell types but its role in cardiomyocytes is unknown. Here the authors show that PP5 binds and dephosphorylates elastic titin in cardiac sarcomeres, and that PP5 is increased in heart failure, reducing cardiomyocyte compliance.

    • Judith Krysiak
    • , Andreas Unger
    •  & Wolfgang A. Linke

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The peripheral nervous system has been implicated in wound healing. Here, Parfejevs and colleagues report that cutaneous wounding in mice induces the de-differentiation and proliferation of Schwann cells, which disseminate into the wound bed, secrete soluble factors, and promote wound healing.

    • Vadims Parfejevs
    • , Julien Debbache
    •  & Lukas Sommer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF168 is important for the repair of DNA double-strand breaks and recognizes ubiquitylated targets through two Ub-dependent DSB recruitment modules UDM1 and UDM2. Here the authors combine crystallography, cell biology and biochemical experiments to reveal how UDM1 and UDM2 interact with polyubiquitin chains.

    • Tomio S. Takahashi
    • , Yoshihiro Hirade
    •  & Shuya Fukai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nephropathic cystinosis is a lysosomal storage disease characterized by proximal tubular cell dysfunction. Here Festa and colleagues show that these lysosomal alterations lead to defective autophagic clearance of mitochondria and increased oxidative stress that, in turn, activates the transcription factor ZONAB leading to impaired cell differentiation.

    • Beatrice Paola Festa
    • , Zhiyong Chen
    •  & Alessandro Luciani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondrial Ca2+ homoeostasis is tightly regulated and export of Ca2+ is mediated by an Na+Ca2+ exchanger. Here authors show that in depolarised mitochondria the exchanger initially operates in reverse mode, transporting cytosolic Ca2+ into the matrix before it reverts to its forward mode state.

    • Krishna Samanta
    • , Gary R. Mirams
    •  & Anant B. Parekh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pex1 and Pex6 form a heterohexameric Type-2 AAA-ATPase motor whose function in peroxisomal matrix-protein import is still debated. Here, the authors combine structural, biochemical, and cell-biological approaches to show that Pex1/Pex6 is a protein unfoldase, which supports a role in mechanical unfolding of peroxin proteins.

    • Brooke M. Gardner
    • , Dominic T. Castanzo
    •  & Andreas Martin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Traveling waves in the cell cortex can propagate much faster than actin waves, and the mechanism is unknown. Here the authors propose a mechanochemical feedback model for traveling waves that incorporates membrane shape changes and recruitment of F-BAR proteins that enables fast wave propagation.

    • Zhanghan Wu
    • , Maohan Su
    •  & Jian Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A dysfunction of autophagy can be detected in aged tissues, but how this is regulated is unclear. Here, the authors show in vitro and in aged mice aorta, that inhibition of LC3 lipidation under conditions of oxidative stress causes oxidation of Atg3 and Atg7, preventing autophagosome maturation.

    • Karen Frudd
    • , Thomas Burgoyne
    •  & Joseph Robert Burgoyne

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Astrocytes in the brain are metabolically dynamic. Here, Ignatenko, Chilov and colleagues delete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in a cell type specific manner, and show that inactivation of mtDNA helicase Twinkle in astrocytes leads to spongiotic encephalopathy.

    • Olesia Ignatenko
    • , Dmitri Chilov
    •  & Anu Suomalainen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The vegetative forms of chlamydiae (RBs) replicate within infected cells and then convert into infectious forms (EBs). Here, the authors use quantitative 3D electron microscopy and computer modeling to show that RB size decreases with replication, and conversion into EBs correlates with an RB size threshold.

    • Jennifer K. Lee
    • , Germán A. Enciso
    •  & Ming Tan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    High homocysteine plasma levels are associated with cardiovascular diseases. Here, Li and colleagues find that homocysteine aggravates vascular injury by direct binding to the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R), identifying AT1R inhibition as a potential strategy to counteract the deleterious vascular effects of hyperhomocysteinemia.

    • Tuoyi Li
    • , Bing Yu
    •  & Wei Kong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Marginal zone B (MZB) cells shuttle between the marginal zone and lymphoid follicle to capture and present peripheral blood antigens. Here the authors show that shear force, such as blood flow from the sinus around the follicle, is a directional cue that induces MZB migration on ICAM-1, and that S1P signaling inhibits this directional migration.

    • Kerry Tedford
    • , Michael Steiner
    •  & Klaus-Dieter Fischer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Activation of autophagy, via the transcription factor TFEB, is a promising strategy to treat metabolic diseases. Here, the authors report three novel classes of small molecules that promote TFEB nuclear translocation, and provide evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of these compounds in mice and worms.

    • Chensu Wang
    • , Hanspeter Niederstrasser
    •  & Michael A. White

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glutamine metabolism is well known to support tumour growth. Here the authors show that cancer cells also utilize glutamine to promote invasiveness by converting it to glutamate, which upon secretion activates metabotropic glutamate receptors to stimulate matrix metalloproteases recycling to the cell surface.

    • Emmanuel Dornier
    • , Nicolas Rabas
    •  & Jim C. Norman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii possess a tubulin-rich structure called the conoid. Here, Long et al. identify a conoid protein that interacts with motor and structural proteins and is required for structural integrity of the conoid, parasite motility, and host cell invasion.

    • Shaojun Long
    • , Bryan Anthony
    •  & L. David Sibley

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Circadian clock regulates hepatic gene expression and functions. Here Chao et al. show that alteration of circadian clock genes by Period deletion induces polyploidy in hepatocytes due to impaired regulation of Erk signaling by mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1.

    • Hsu-Wen Chao
    • , Masao Doi
    •  & Hitoshi Okamura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Tankyrase 1 and 2 are poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases that mark proteins for degradation, but there is a current lack of knowledge about their distinct functions and substrates. Here, the authors elucidate the cellular roles and substrates of these polymerases using comparative functional and proteomics analyses of tankyrase knockout cell lines.

    • Amit Bhardwaj
    • , Yanling Yang
    •  & Susan Smith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The formation of new blood vessels requires both polarized cell migration and coordinated control of endothelial cell contacts. Here, Cao and colleagues describe at the sub-cellular level the cytoskeletal and cell junction dynamics regulating these processes upon VEGF-induced cell elongation.

    • Jiahui Cao
    • , Manuel Ehling
    •  & Hans Schnittler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The dopamine transporter (DAT), a regulator of dopamine homeostasis in the brain, and sigma-1 receptor (σ1R), an endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein, are both implicated in drug addiction. In this work, the authors investigate how σ1R modulates DAT response to methamphetamine.

    • Danielle O. Sambo
    • , Min Lin
    •  & Habibeh Khoshbouei

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CCR5 is a co-receptor for HIV, and loss of function is associated with lower incidence of HIV but also with bone-destructive diseases. Here the authors show that ablation of CCR5 impairs osteoclast function and improves resistance to osteoporosis in mouse models.

    • Ji-Won Lee
    • , Akiyoshi Hoshino
    •  & Tadahiro Iimura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathways are essential for cancer cell survival. Here, the authors describes a molecule a131 with dual-inhibitory properties, which targets PI5P4K and mitosis, and it is involved in Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR crosstalk, thereby causing reversible growth arrest in normal cells and cell death of tumor cells.

    • Mayumi Kitagawa
    • , Pei-Ju Liao
    •  & Sang Hyun Lee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The lack of an appropriate method has hampered quantitative measurements of cell chirality. Here, the authors combine Riesz transform-differential interference contrast microscopy and computational kinematic analysis to reveal chiral cell motility of neuronal growth cone filopodia and cellular slime mold.

    • Atsushi Tamada
    •  & Michihiro Igarashi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is a myopathy linked to ectopic expression of the DUX4 transcription factor. The authors show that the suppression of targets genes of the myogenesis regulator PAX7 is a signature of FSHD, and might explain oxidative stress sensitivity and epigenetic changes.

    • Christopher R. S. Banerji
    • , Maryna Panamarova
    •  & Peter S. Zammit

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dynein is a microtubule motor the motility of which is affected by the microtubule-associated protein She1. Here, the authors show that She1 alters dynein stepping behavior and increases its microtubule affinity through simultaneous interactions with the microtubule and dynein microtubule binding domain.

    • Kari H. Ecklund
    • , Tatsuya Morisaki
    •  & Steven M. Markus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is not known whether the shape of a cell can regulate cellular phenotype independently. Here, the authors show that culturing kidney podocytes or smooth muscle cells on 3-D biomimetic surfaces results in phenotypic changes and that cell shape is sensed by integrin β3 in a tension-independent manner.

    • Amit Ron
    • , Evren U. Azeloglu
    •  & Ravi Iyengar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    An actin cap protects the morphology of the nucleus during cellular mechanical stress. Here, the authors show that the nuclear lamina protein lamin A/C mediates the formation of the actin cap in response to stress, and model the distribution of forces in the presence and absence of the actin cap.

    • Jeong-Ki Kim
    • , Arghavan Louhghalam
    •  & Dong-Hwee Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Phosphoinositides are enriched in the nucleus and accumulate upon DNA damage but their role in responding to DNA damage is poorly defined. Here, the authors show that phosphoinositides rapidly accumulate at DNA damage sites and are required for ATR recruitment and subsequent Chk1 activation.

    • Yu-Hsiu Wang
    • , Anushya Hariharan
    •  & Michael P. Sheetz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Noisy gene expression can cause stochasticity in the expression of plant traits. Here, Araújo et al. use a dual reporter system of protein expression in Arabidopsis to show that expression noise is lowest in stomata relative to other tissues and that leaf cells are coupled with respect to noise.

    • Ilka Schultheiß Araújo
    • , Jessica Magdalena Pietsch
    •  & Martin Hülskamp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The oncogenic activity of EBNA1 protein is unknown; it contains a glycine and alanine repeat sequence (GAr) which regulates its own translation in cis. Here the authors show that GAr stimulates PI3Kδ-mediated induction of E2F1 translation, leading to c-Myc induction and stimulation of proliferation.

    • Sivakumar Vadivel Gnanasundram
    • , Slovénie Pyndiah
    •  & Robin Fåhraeus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Spleen protein tyrosine kinase (Syk) has so far been mainly studied in haematopoietic and immune cells. Here, the authors show that Syk also has a role in brown adipose tissue, where it regulates the formation of brown adipocytes and their thermogenic activation in response to β-adrenergic stimulation.

    • Marko Knoll
    • , Sally Winther
    •  & Harvey F. Lodish

  • Article
    | Open Access

    TERRA RNA is involved in maintaining stability during telomere repeat replication. Here the authors, by using CRISPR/Cas9, mutate CTCF-binding sites at start site of TERRA transcripts and find that subtelomeric CTCF facilitates telomeric DNA replication by promoting TERRA transcription.

    • Kate Beishline
    • , Olga Vladimirova
    •  & Paul M. Lieberman

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