Issues

Summary: Here, we review and illustrate the proposed cellular functions of metazoan myosin-I molecular motors by examining the structural, biochemical, mechanical and cell biological evidence for their proposed molecular roles.

Summary: This Commentary provides an evolutionary view of macropinocytosis, while discussing recent breakthroughs in understanding of underlying mechanisms and their subversion by pathogens and tumour cells.

Summary: The proline-rich N-terminal ten amino acids of survivin is a mitochondrial-targeting domain and a regulator of the proto-oncogene Src. Hence, survivin could act in concert with Src to promote tumorigenesis.

Summary: Cep78 is a centriolar protein and binding partner of polo-like kinase 4 (Plk4) involved in centriole overduplication. Cep78 depletion impairs the recruitment of excess Plk4 to centrioles, restricting centriole amplification.

Summary: This study identifies Mdp3 as a new component of the DDA3 complex. Mdp3 regulates minus-end spindle dynamics and MT flux by inhibiting DDA3-mediated Kif2a recruitment during mitosis.

Summary: The basal body marker Unc–GFP is found in the Drosophila eye imaginal discs that lack ciliary structures. This suggests new roles for the Unc protein.

Highlighted Article: Mutant p.S143P lamin A/C causes familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It is shown that this protein affects normal lamina structure and influences the cellular stress response, homeostasis and viability.

Summary: Systematic dissection of the Gin4 kinase in the human pathogenic fungus Candida albicans uncovers three new functional domains that interact with distinct cellular components.

Highlighted Article: A tubulin polyglutamylase, TTLL9, is involved in the establishment of normal interdoublet heterogeneity of sperm axoneme, and is required for structural integrity and fluid motility of murine sperm flagella.

Summary: Ccndbp1 positively regulates skeletal muscle differentiation by interacting with MyoD, promoting formation of a complex and subsequent activity.

Summary: A comprehensive cell biological and genetic analysis in the fungus Ustilago maydis provides in vivo evidence that cytoskeletal septin complexes are assembled and transported on endosomes.

Highlighted Article: The present work describes how a trafficking protein, APPL1, mediates synaptic plasticity events depending on the involvement of PI3K intracellular signaling, rather than on the outcome of the synaptic change (potentiation versus depression).

Summary: SNX9, differentially regulated by Src, alters the ability of cancer cells to degrade the matrix through regulation of MT1-MMP internalization and/or invadopodia formation and function.

Highlighted Article: Accumulation of organelle content is signaled to the surface of yeast vacuoles in order to increase their storage capacity by homotypic membrane fusion.

Summary: We show Rif interacts with IRTKS and PinkBAR, and propose a model in which Rac, Cdc42 and Rif utilize I-BAR domain proteins as a central mechanism to regulate cell morphology.

Summary: CCN6, or Wnt-induced signaling protein 3 (WISP3), regulates mitochondrial electron transport and ATP synthesis. The influence of CCN6 on mitochondrial function might impact cell growth and differentiation.

Summary: BDNF mRNA is targeted to dendrites and translated locally. We describe the compartments and the signaling cascades required for local BDNF translation in dendrites in response to excitatory inputs.

Highlighted Article: Multifunctional high-resolution imaging of real-time glucose metabolism in vivo opens the door to noninvasive longitudinal in vivo studies of human islets during diabetes development.