Hot off the presses! May 01 Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol

The May 01 issue of the Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol is now up on Pubget (About Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol): if you're at a subscribing institution, just click the link in the latest link at the home page. (Note you'll only be able to get all the PDFs in the issue if your institution subscribes to Pubget.)

Latest Articles Include:

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  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):275 (2011)
  
• Protein metabolism: The benefits of inactivity | PDF (269 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):277 (2011)
  Intramembrane proteases catalyse irreversible cleavage of proteins, so it is crucial to limit their action. It is unclear how this is achieved, but there is some evidence that physically separating the substrates from these proteases is important.
• Cell migration: Keeping young and mobile with β-PIX | PDF (207 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):278 (2011)
  Kuo et al. have undertaken a proteomic analysis to assess changes in protein abundance in focal adhesions in response to contractility-mediated maturation.
• Prions: The fast and the furious | PDF (262 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):278 (2011)
  The host cellular prion protein (PrPC) can be converted into the misfolded and infectious scrapie form (PrPSc) when the two forms come into contact, causing prion diseases. By developing a new cell system, this study offers novel insights into how PrPC is converted into the misfolded protein.
• Cell death: A killer puts a stop on necroptosis | PDF (173 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):279 (2011)
  During the extrinsic apoptotic pathway, activated death receptors recruit the adaptor protein FAS-associated death domain protein (FADD), which recruits and activates caspase 8 to initiate apoptosis. This pathway can be blocked by FLICE-like inhibitory protein long (FLIPL).
• Developement: Strong bones: got FZD9? | PDF (236 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):280 (2011)
  Frizzled 9 (FZD9), which belongs to a family of receptors involved in WNT signalling, has a role in bone formation, according to a recent study.
• Sperm in a dish | PDF (91 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):280 (2011)
  Functional sperm has been grown for the first time in the laboratory. Reporting in Nature, researchers from Yokohama City University, Japan, cultured testicular tissue fragments from newborn transgenic mice.
• Mitosis: Formin' an attachment | PDF (188 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):280 (2011)
  The mammalian diaphanous-related formins (mDIAs), originally characterized for their ability to nucleate unbranched actin, can also regulate microtubule stabilization during cell polarization and migration. Cheng et al.
• Nuclear organization | Development | Transcription | PDF (102 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):281 (2011)
  Paraspeckles are subpopulation-specific nuclear bodies that are not essential in mice Nakagawa, S.et al. J. Cell Biol. 193, 31–39 (2011)
• Fearlessly tackling the organizer | PDF (141 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):282 (2011)
  "What should I read?" is the classic question I receive from new undergraduates entering the laboratory.
• Circadian rhythms: I'm not fat, I just need more sleep | PDF (145 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):282 (2011)
  Quality of sleep affects many aspects of life; one well-reported observation is that shift-workers have a greater tendency towards metabolic syndrome and obesity. Now, Feng et al.
• Unravelling the means to an end: RNA polymerase II transcription termination
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):283 (2011)
  The pervasiveness of RNA synthesis in eukaryotes is largely the result of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-mediated transcription, and termination of its activity is necessary to partition the genome and maintain the proper expression of neighbouring genes. Despite its ever-increasing biological significance, transcription termination remains one of the least understood processes in gene expression. However, recent mechanistic studies have revealed a striking convergence among several overlapping models of termination, including the poly(A)- and Sen1-dependent pathways, as well as new insights into the specificity of Pol II termination among its diverse gene targets. Broader knowledge of the role of Pol II carboxy-terminal domain phosphorylation in promoting alternative mechanisms of termination has also been gained.
• The spatial and temporal organization of ubiquitin networks
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):295 (2011)
  In the past decade, the diversity of signals generated by the ubiquitin system has emerged as a dominant regulator of biological processes and propagation of information in the eukaryotic cell. A wealth of information has been gained about the crucial role of spatial and temporal regulation of ubiquitin species of different lengths and linkages in the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway, endocytic trafficking, protein degradation and DNA repair. This spatiotemporal regulation is achieved through sophisticated mechanisms of compartmentalization and sequential series of ubiquitylation events and signal decoding, which control diverse biological processes not only in the cell but also during the development of tissues and entire organisms.
• Balancing forces: architectural control of mechanotransduction
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):308 (2011)
  All cells exist within the context of a three-dimensional microenvironment in which they are exposed to mechanical and physical cues. These cues can be disrupted through perturbations to mechanotransduction, from the nanoscale-level to the tissue-level, which compromises tensional homeostasis to promote pathologies such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The mechanisms of such perturbations suggest that a complex interplay exists between the extracellular microenvironment and cellular function. Furthermore, sustained disruptions in tensional homeostasis can be caused by alterations in the extracellular matrix, allowing it to serve as a mechanically based memory-storage device that can perpetuate a disease or restore normal tissue behaviour.
• Centromeres: unique chromatin structures that drive chromosome segregation
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):320 (2011)
  Fidelity during chromosome segregation is essential to prevent aneuploidy. The proteins and chromatin at the centromere form a unique site for kinetochore attachment and allow the cell to sense and correct errors during chromosome segregation. Centromeric chromatin is characterized by distinct chromatin organization, epigenetics, centromere-associated proteins and histone variants. These include the histone H3 variant centromeric protein A (CENPA), the composition and deposition of which have been widely investigated. Studies have examined the structural and biophysical properties of the centromere and have suggested that the centromere is not simply a 'landing pad' for kinetochore formation, but has an essential role in mitosis by assembling and directing the organization of the kinetochore.
• Spatial expression of the genome: the signal hypothesis at forty
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(5):333 (2011)
  The signal hypothesis, formulated by Günter Blobel and David Sabatini in 1971, and elaborated by Blobel and his colleagues between 1975 and 1980, fundamentally expanded our view of cells by introducing the concept of topogenic signals. Cells were no longer just morphological entities with compartmentalized biochemical functions; they were now active participants in the creation and perpetuation of their own form and identity, the decoders of linear genetic information into three dimensions.