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Open Access
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News & Views |
Cells destroy donated mitochondria to build blood vessels
Organelles called mitochondria are transferred to blood-vessel-forming cells by support cells. Unexpectedly, these mitochondria are degraded, kick-starting the production of new ones and boosting vessel formation.
- Chantell S. Evans
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News Feature |
Why is exercise good for you? Scientists are finding answers in our cells
Decades of evidence shows that exercise leads to healthier, longer lives. Researchers are just starting to work out what it does to cells to reap this reward.
- Gemma Conroy
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Article |
Mechanics of human embryo compaction
Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.
- Julie Firmin
- , Nicolas Ecker
- & Jean-Léon Maître
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Article |
Mitochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy
Under stressful conditions, mesenchymal stromal cells transfer mitochondria to endothelial cells through tunnelling nanotubes, and artificially transplanting mitochondria into endothelial cells improves the ability of these cells to engraft and to revascularize ischaemic tissues.
- Ruei-Zeng Lin
- , Gwang-Bum Im
- & Juan M. Melero-Martin
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Article
| Open AccessMultimodal cell atlas of the ageing human skeletal muscle
The Human Muscle Ageing Cell Atlas provides a series of integrated cellular and molecular explanations for sarcopenia and frailty development in advanced ages.
- Yiwei Lai
- , Ignacio Ramírez-Pardo
- & Miguel A. Esteban
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Article |
Brain endothelial GSDMD activation mediates inflammatory BBB breakdown
Lipopolysaccharide-induced breakdown of the blood–brain barrier requires activation of GSDMD-mediated plasma membrane permeabilization and pyroptosis in brain endothelial cells.
- Chao Wei
- , Wei Jiang
- & Feng Shao
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Article
| Open AccessControl of neuronal excitation–inhibition balance by BMP–SMAD1 signalling
Signalling by the developmental morphogen BMP2 through the transcription factor SMAD1 has a key role in controlling the glutamatergic innervation of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons and maintaining the balance between excitation and inhibition in the mammalian cortex.
- Zeynep Okur
- , Nadia Schlauri
- & Peter Scheiffele
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Article |
ROS-dependent S-palmitoylation activates cleaved and intact gasdermin D
- Gang Du
- , Liam B. Healy
- & Hao Wu
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Article |
Sex differences orchestrated by androgens at single-cell resolution
The effects of sex and androgens on the molecular programs and cellular populations are explored using a single-cell transcriptomic atlas comprising over 2.3 million cells from different tissues in Mus musculus.
- Fei Li
- , Xudong Xing
- & Dong Gao
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Article |
Metabolic rewiring promotes anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids
Glucocorticoids reprogram the mitochondrial metabolism of macrophages, resulting in increased and sustained production of the anti-inflammatory metabolite itaconate and, as a consequence, inhibition of the inflammatory response.
- Jean-Philippe Auger
- , Max Zimmermann
- & Gerhard Krönke
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Review Article |
Bridging structural and cell biology with cryo-electron microscopy
The interplay between cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography to define complex macromolecular assemblies and visualize them in situ is explored.
- Eva Nogales
- & Julia Mahamid
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Article |
Mechanical activation opens a lipid-lined pore in OSCA ion channels
The molecular basis of OSCA/TMEM63 channel mechanosensitivity was investigated by determining 44 cryogenic electron microscopy structures of channels in different environments, expanding understanding of channel-mediated mechanotransduction and pore formation, with implications for two protein families.
- Yaoyao Han
- , Zijing Zhou
- & Yixiao Zhang
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News & Views |
The race to uncover fission factors for lysosomal organelles heats up
Organelles called lysosomes fuse with cargo-carrying vesicles and degrade the cargo molecules. How lysosomes maintain their size despite constant vesicle fusion was unclear, but now factors that aid organelle fission have been found.
- Shilpa Gopan
- & Thomas J. Pucadyil
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Article |
The HEAT repeat protein HPO-27 is a lysosome fission factor
The conserved HEAT repeat protein HPO-27 is identified as a lysosome scission factor in Caenorhabditis elegans, and the human homologue MROH1 also serves the same function to maintain lysosomal homeostasis.
- Letao Li
- , Xilu Liu
- & Xiaochen Wang
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News Feature |
These ‘movies’ of proteins in action are revealing the hidden biology of cells
A burgeoning technique called time-resolved cryo-EM is granting insights into the tiny motors and devices that power life.
- Ewen Callaway
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Article
| Open AccessSubstrate-induced condensation activates plant TIR domain proteins
Binding of the substrates NAD+ and ATP to the plant Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain proteins induces phase separation and, thereby, activation of TIR enzymatic and immune signalling activity.
- Wen Song
- , Li Liu
- & Jijie Chai
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Article |
Time-resolved cryo-EM of G-protein activation by a GPCR
Time-resolved cryo-EM is used to capture structural transitions during G-protein activation stimulated by a G-protein-coupled receptor.
- Makaía M. Papasergi-Scott
- , Guillermo Pérez-Hernández
- & Georgios Skiniotis
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Research Briefing |
Dysregulated cellular stress management becomes a source of stress
Stress responses protect cells from harmful conditions, but once the stress has resolved, these responses must be actively turned off to avoid cell damage that might lead to the development of neurodegenerative disease.
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News & Views |
Interactions between immune cells recorded
Direct interactions between cells in tissue are incompletely understood because the advanced technologies required to examine them are still in their infancy. A new method can decipher cell–cell interactions on a large scale.
- Michael A. Wheeler
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Article |
CST–polymerase α-primase solves a second telomere end-replication problem
Incomplete duplication of the C-rich telomeric repeat strand by lagging-strand DNA synthesis is counteracted by DNA synthesis mediated by CST–polymerase α-primase.
- Hiroyuki Takai
- , Valentina Aria
- & Titia de Lange
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Article |
Mechanisms of calcium homeostasis orchestrate plant growth and immunity
A study of calcium homeostasis in the plant Arabidopsis reveals two signalling pathways it uses to balance the objectives of growth and immunity by regulating the level of Ca2+ in the cytosol.
- Chao Wang
- , Ren-Jie Tang
- & Sheng Luan
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Technology Feature |
How phase separation is revolutionizing biology
Imaging and molecular manipulation reveal how biomolecular condensates form and offer clues to the role of phase separation in health and disease.
- Elie Dolgin
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Obituary |
Judith Campisi (1948–2024), cell biologist who explored how cells age
Researcher who established the role of cellular senescence in cancer and ageing.
- Jan Vijg
- & Jan Hoeijmakers
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Article
| Open AccessThe UFM1 E3 ligase recognizes and releases 60S ribosomes from ER translocons
Attachment of the ubiquitin-like modifier UFM1 to 60S ribosomes has a critical function in the release and recycling of stalled or terminated ribosomes from the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.
- Linda Makhlouf
- , Joshua J. Peter
- & Yogesh Kulathu
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Article |
UFM1 E3 ligase promotes recycling of 60S ribosomal subunits from the ER
Structural and biochemical analyses reveal details of how UFM1 conjugation and deconjugation mediate ribosome recycling and quality control.
- Paul A. DaRosa
- , Ivan Penchev
- & Ron R. Kopito
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Article
| Open AccessWNT signalling control by KDM5C during development affects cognition
The demethylase KDM5C, mutations in which often lead to intellectual disability, is identified as a crucial player in regulating the precise timing of neurodevelopment together with the WNT signalling pathway.
- Violetta Karwacki-Neisius
- , Ahram Jang
- & Yang Shi
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Article |
Nuclear export of circular RNA
Circular RNAs are exported from the nucleus by Ran-GTP, exportin-2 and IGF2BP1 in a mechanism analogous to protein export rather than mRNA export.
- Linh H. Ngo
- , Andrew G. Bert
- & Vihandha O. Wickramasinghe
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Article |
Allosteric modulation and G-protein selectivity of the Ca2+-sensing receptor
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human calcium-sensing receptor in complex with Gi and Gq proteins reveal how this receptor activates distinct G protein subtypes and how its function is modulated by a variety of ligands.
- Feng He
- , Cheng-Guo Wu
- & Georgios Skiniotis
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Article |
Convergence of coronary artery disease genes onto endothelial cell programs
Variant-to-gene-to-program is a new approach to building maps of genome function to link risk variants to disease genes and to convergent signalling pathways in an unbiased manner; its strength is demonstrated in coronary artery disease.
- Gavin R. Schnitzler
- , Helen Kang
- & Jesse M. Engreitz
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News & Views |
From the archive: lonely cells, and Thomas Henry Huxley backs evolution
Snippets from Nature’s past.
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Research Briefing |
Several transient binding events create a strong, adaptable interface between organelles
Rapid communication between intracellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria is crucial for the coordinated functioning of cells. Such interactions occur mainly at sites where the compartments are in direct contact, and are mediated by specific tethering machinery. High-speed single-molecule tracking reveals a well-regulated interface at which many rapid binding and unbinding events provide highly adaptable interactions.
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Nature Video |
Why human brain cells grow so slowly
Some human neurons take years to reach maturity; an epigenetic ‘brake’ could be responsible.
- Shamini Bundell
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News & Views |
Natural inhibitor found for cell death by ferroptosis
The discovery that an evolutionarily conserved molecule used to make cholesterol also acts as a defence against a cell-death mechanism called ferroptosis might lead to new ways to treat cancer and other clinical conditions.
- Donna D. Zhang
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News Feature |
How cancer hijacks the nervous system to grow and spread
A new wave of research is unpicking the relationship between cancer and neurons — and looking for ways to stop the crosstalk.
- McKenzie Prillaman
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Article
| Open AccessStress response silencing by an E3 ligase mutated in neurodegeneration
The E3 ligase SIFI is identified as a dedicated silencing factor of the integrated stress response, a finding that has implications for the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases caused by mitochondrial protein import stress.
- Diane L. Haakonsen
- , Michael Heider
- & Michael Rapé
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Article |
7-Dehydrocholesterol dictates ferroptosis sensitivity
7-Dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) is a natural anti-ferroptotic metabolite and pharmacological manipulation of 7-DHC levels shows promise as a therapeutic strategy for cancer and ischaemia–reperfusion injury.
- Yaxu Li
- , Qiao Ran
- & Ping Wang
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Article |
7-Dehydrocholesterol is an endogenous suppressor of ferroptosis
Proferroptotic activity of 7-dehydrocholesterol reductase is shown along with an unexpected prosurvival function of its substrate, 7-dehydrocholesterol, indicating a cell-intrinsic mechanism that could be used by cancer cells to protect phospholipids from oxidative damage and escape ferroptosis.
- Florencio Porto Freitas
- , Hamed Alborzinia
- & José Pedro Friedmann Angeli
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Article
| Open AccessMotion of VAPB molecules reveals ER–mitochondria contact site subdomains
High-speed molecular tracking is integrated with three-dimensional electron microscopy to map the diffusion distribution and ultrastructure of endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites, revealing the ability of high-speed single-molecule imaging to map contact site interface structures and corresponding diffusion landscapes.
- Christopher J. Obara
- , Jonathon Nixon-Abell
- & Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz
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Article
| Open AccessHIV-1 capsids enter the FG phase of nuclear pores like a transport receptor
The HIV-1 capsid behaves like a nuclear transport receptor entering and traversing an FG phase, with its interior serving as a cargo container, bypassing an otherwise effective barrier to viral infection.
- Liran Fu
- , Erika N. Weiskopf
- & Dirk Görlich
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News & Views |
DNA sensing and repair systems unexpectedly team up against cancer
DNA in the cytoplasm can be a sign of abnormalities such as viral infections or cancer. A protein with a role in DNA-damage response was unexpectedly found to activate defences against the threats indicated by cytoplasmic DNA.
- Silvia Monticelli
- & Petr Cejka
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News & Views |
How plants iron out the competing interests of growth and defence
Once a plant recognizes a pathogen, part of its defence strategy is to withhold iron. The mechanism involves suppression of root acquisition of iron by degrading a molecule that activates the iron-uptake pathway.
- Shanice S. Webster
- & Mary Lou Guerinot
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Research Briefing |
Zebrafish embryo cells need no receptors to receive signals from afar
Thin cellular protrusions called cytonemes can transport ligand–receptor complexes from a signal-producing cell to a receiving cell in the developing zebrafish embryo. Even cells lacking the receptor can be activated by this signalling system.
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Article
| Open AccessCytoneme-mediated transport of active Wnt5b–Ror2 complexes in zebrafish
In zebrafish embryos, active complexes of Wnt5b and its membrane-bound receptor Ror2 are transported between cells via cellular protrusions called cytonemes to initiate paracrine Wnt5b signalling in cells that do not endogenously express the receptor.
- Chengting Zhang
- , Lucy Brunt
- & Steffen Scholpp
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Article
| Open AccessCryo-EM structures of PP2A:B55–FAM122A and PP2A:B55–ARPP19
Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the PP2A:B55 holoenzyme bound to its inhibitors ARPP19 and FAM122A show distinct binding modes of the two inhibitors.
- Sathish K. R. Padi
- , Margaret R. Vos
- & Wolfgang Peti
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Article
| Open AccessMitochondrial dysfunction abrogates dietary lipid processing in enterocytes
Mitochondria have a pivotal role in the transport of dietary lipids in enterocytes, a finding that might have relevance to understanding the aberrant gastrointestinal function in patients with mitochondrial disorders.
- Chrysanthi Moschandrea
- , Vangelis Kondylis
- & Manolis Pasparakis
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News & Views |
Muscle immune cells protect mitochondrial organelles during exercise
A suppressive type of immune cell called a regulatory T cell has a key role in helping muscles to adapt to exercise — guarding muscle mitochondrial organelles against damage mediated by proinflammatory factors generated during physical activity.
- Gerald Coulis
- & S. Armando Villalta
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News & Views |
Wetlands, neutrinos and warning coloration: kicking off a year of remarkable science
Highlights from News & Views published in early 2023.
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News & Views |
Modified messenger-RNA components alter the encoded protein
Modified components of messenger RNA can cause the protein-production machinery to stall during the process of translation. This might change the protein being made, a finding with implications for vaccines or therapies.
- Nicholas J. Tursi
- & David B. Weiner
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Article |
Genetic risk converges on regulatory networks mediating early type 2 diabetes
Integration of multiomics data with functional analysis of pancreatic tissues from individuals with early-stage type 2 diabetes indicates that the genetic risk converges on RFX6, which regulates chromatin architecture at multiple risk loci.
- John T. Walker
- , Diane C. Saunders
- & Marcela Brissova
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