Published in Trends in cell biology
Liquid-liquid phase separation drives the formation of biomolecular condensates (BCs) for the spatiotemporal organization of several cellular processes. Recent evidences indicate that components of plasma-membrane-associated platforms form biomolecular condensates near focal adhesions (FAs), and suggest that phase separation regulates dynamic proce...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Classically, animal cells nucleate or form new microtubules off the perinuclear centrosome. In recent years, the Golgi outpost has emerged as a satellite organelle that can function as an acentrosomal microtubule-organizing center (MTOC), nucleating new microtubules at distances far from the nucleus or cell body. Golgi outposts can nucleate new mic...
Published in Trends in cell biology
The inner centromere is a region on the mitotic chromosome that serves as a platform for mitotic signaling and possesses unique biophysical properties that enable it to withstand relatively large pulling forces that are generated by kinetochores (KTs) during chromosome segregation. The chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) localizes to and is the key...
Published in Trends in cell biology
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are privileged structural scaffolds in biology that have the versatility to regulate diverse physiological processes. Interestingly, many GPCR ligands exhibit significant 'bias' - the ability to preferentially activate subsets of the many cellular pathways downstream of these receptors. Recently, complementary in...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Insulin stimulates glucose transport by triggering regulated delivery of intracellular vesicles containing the GLUT4 glucose transporter to the plasma membrane. This process is defective in diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2DM). While studies in rodent cells have been invaluable in understanding GLUT4 traffic, evolutionary plasticity must be cons...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Recent work provides evidence for the new terminology, 'endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response or sensing failure', in relation to metabolic disease. We seek to identify and amass possible conditions of ER stress response failure in various metabolic and age-related pathogenesis, including obesity and diabetes. Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Pub...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Scientific research relies on a range of technologies, many of which are developing at a fast pace. Technical experts able to advise researchers on experimental design and validate the performance1 of shared instruments are increasingly recognized as critical members of the research community. Here I describe a novel postdoctoral fellowship program...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) is a major responder to the pathogenic DNA of viruses and bacteria. Upon DNA binding, cGAS becomes enzymatically active to generate the second messenger cGAMP, leading to activation of inflammatory genes, type I interferon production, autophagy, and cell death. Following genotoxic stress, cGAS can also respond...
Published in Trends in cell biology
Given their polyvalent functions, an inherent challenge that mitochondria face is the exposure to mitochondrial import stresses, culminating in their dysfunction. Recently, mitochondrial import of several mitochondrial substrates was shown to be regulated via a 'tug of war' between USP30 and MARCH5, two ubiquitin-related enzymes located at the TOM ...
Published in Trends in cell biology
The cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL4Cdt2 has emerged as a master regulator of genome stability, which targets key cell cycle proteins for proteolysis during S phase and after DNA damage. Recent advances shed light on how it couples ubiquitination to DNA synthesis, offering a new paradigm for substrate recognition: Cdt2 binds directly onto proli...
