Issues

Summary: Neuronal proteins are synthesized in axons, which are separated from the cell body of a neuron. These axonally synthesized proteins serve functions in growth, function, and injury responses of the neuron, which are reviewed here.

Summary: Refilins behave as spatiotemporal regulators of the actin-bundling function of filamin and contribute to mechanosensory functions of filamin-B during vertebrate skeletal development.

Summary: This Review showcases important advances in our understanding of amyloid structure, assembly and disassembly, which are inspiring novel therapeutic strategies for amyloid disorders.

Highlighted Article: Citron kinase is required to maintain F-actin at midbody secondary ingression sites, which is necessary to prepare abscission sites for the final cut.

Highlighted Article: We identified that SMU1, DDB1, CUL7 and RNF40 assemble an E3 ligase complex that promotes H2B monoubiquitylation to drive SMC1 expression, which is essential for sister chromatid cohesion.

Highlighted Article: EGFR and PTEN localize to short-lived clathrin-coated pits (CCPs), and PTEN regulates CCP dynamics and signaling, suggesting compartmentalized signaling is crucial for proper signaling transduction.

Highlighted Article: MiRF172 is a novel protein involved in the reattachment of replicated minicircles in Trypanosoma brucei; this protein requires the mitochondrial segregation machinery for correct localization.

Highlighted Article: Stiff extracellular matrix signals through integrin-linked kinase to enhance the expression of frizzled-1, thus promoting signaling and proliferation downstream of Wnt3a in mammary epithelial cells.

Summary: Using genetically encoded probes to quantify PIP₂ and PI4P turnover in vivo, novel components of the phosphoinositide cycle in Drosophila photoreceptors were identified including PI4KIIIα and associated scaffolding proteins.

Summary: The Aβ-induced increase in synaptic cholesterol concentrations, which controls signalling complexes leading to synapse damage, is dependent upon the phospholipase A₂ pathway.

Highlighted Article: The essential neural protein neurochondrin interacts with the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) protein SMN in cell lines and in mice. This might be relevant to the molecular pathology of SMA.

Highlighted Article: The transmembrane inner nuclear membrane protein Samp1 has a functional role in recruitment of γ-tubulin to the mitotic spindle and correct spindle assembly.

Summary: Drosophila Wash loss-of-function mutant is not homozygous lethal, but plays essential roles in oogenesis and its loss in the ovary leads to compensation by the related family member Scar.

Summary: A novel nuclear structure – nuclear lipid islets – might serve as a structural platform for the formation of Pol II transcription factories, thus participating in the formation of transcription-competent architecture.

Summary: Two similar deubiquitylases USP5 and USP13 are located in stress granules induced by heat stress and facilitate their disassembly, most likely through hydrolysis of ubiquitin chains.

Summary:Here, we describe a method to purify recombinant actin to homogeneity by expression in Pichia pastoris. The purified actin is polymerisation competent and should facilitate biochemical and cell biological studies of the actin cytoskeleton.