Issues

Summary: This report summarizes recent advances in the study of desmosomes and desmosome-associated diseases, as discussed at the 2024 Alpine Desmosome Disease Meeting held in Grainau, Germany.

Summary: Different classes of GAG lyases have specific substrate selectivity and therefore have different uses in and potential for various functional applications.

Summary: The recently discovered extracellular matrix protein SNED1 promotes the adhesion of breast cancer cells and neural crest cells via interaction with α5β1 and αvβ3 integrins, the first SNED1 receptors identified to date.

Summary: Identification of a non-mitochondrial function for the mitochondrial phosphatase PPTC7; PPTC7 promotes cargo recycling by facilitating VPS4A endosomal localization.

Highlighted Article: Cell motility has a major role in development, tissue homeostasis and tumor metastatic processes. EGFR promotes migration of squamous cell carcinoma cells by activating the VAV2-Rac1 signaling pathway in endosomes.

Summary: Rabin8 phosphorylation by NDR2 (also known as STK38L) kinase, which is implicated in an inherited early retinal degenerative disease, affects rhodopsin Golgi-to-cilia trafficking.

Highlighted Article: Ephrin-A5-dependent axon guidance involves a point contact-restricted cAMP signal that controls the turnover of these adhesion-dedicated structures and the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase.

Highlighted Article: At the site of attachment to tendon, type I and II human myofibre tips display elevated myonuclear content but diverge in number of mononuclear cells, changing our understanding of myotendinous junction biology.