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

The Jul 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(7):399 (2011)
  
• DNA repair: BRCA2 gets protective at forks | PDF (255 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):400 (2011)
  The breast cancer type 2 susceptibility (BRCA2) protein, which is frequently mutated in hereditary breast cancer, is involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks by homologous recombination (homology-directed repair (HDR)). Now, Schlacher et al.
• Tinkering with nature | PDF (133 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):400 (2011)
  As a postdoctoral researcher, I attended a talk by Francis Crick, who described nature as "a tinkerer". In evolution, basic structures are often altered, through the addition of units and novel functions, to generate more complex systems.
• Stem cells: cNeoblasts keep their options open | PDF (201 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):401 (2011)
  Many species have the remarkable ability to regenerate cells, tissues or even complete animals through different mechanisms. Planarian flatworms are one example of a species that can completely regenerate, and Reddien and colleagues now find that this is mediated by pluripotent stem cells known as clonogenic neoblasts (cNeoblasts).
• Non-coding RNA: A new molecular pathway for TP53 | PDF (332 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):402 (2011)
  The role of the tumour suppressor TP53 in limiting cellular proliferation in response to cell stress is well established. A new study further defines a role for TP53 in maintaining homeostasis in normal, unstressed cells.
• DNA replication: Pif1 overcomes a quadruplex hurdle | PDF (217 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):402 (2011)
  G-quadruplex (G4) structures, formed by non-canonical intramolecular G•G base pairs, are predicted to be prevalent in the genome. Their stable nature suggests that they might pose problems for DNA in vivo and, indeed, Zakian and colleagues have found that, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, G4 structures slow down replication forks and that this is counteracted by the Pif1 helicase.
• Cell migration: An ABC of the RHO subfamily | PDF (262 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):403 (2011)
  The idea that RHOA, RHOB and RHOC could differ in their functions seems at odds with the 84% sequence similarity shared by these RHO subfamily members, but a report by Vega et al. in the Journal of Cell Biology now provides definitive evidence that RHOA and RHOC have distinct roles in cell migration and invasion, and indicates that this difference arises through the use of different effectors.
• Mechanotransduction: YAP and TAZ feel the force | PDF (295 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):404 (2011)
  Although it is well established that physical and mechanical cues regulate cell behaviour, the transcription factors that interpret these signals are less well known. Dupont et al.
• Autophagy: TFEB perfects multitasking | PDF (415 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):404 (2011)
  A new transcription-dependent mechanism regulating autophagy has been identified by a recent study. Ballabio and colleagues reveal that the transcription factor TFEB, which is known to control lysosomal biogenesis, also regulates autophagy.
• Post-translational modification | Metabolism | Cytoskeleton | PDF (103 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):404 (2011)
  N-terminal acetylation inhibits protein targeting to the endoplasmic reticulum Forte, G. M. A., Pool, M. R. & Stirling, C. J.PLoS Biol. 9, e1001073 (2011)
• Chromatin | Cell signalling | Cell death | PDF (104 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):405 (2011)
  Patterns and mechanisms of ancestral histone protein inheritance in budding yeast Radman-Livaja, M.et al. PLoS Biol. 9, e1001075 (2011) Article
• A blueprint for kinetochores — new insights into the molecular mechanics of cell division
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):407 (2011)
  Kinetochores are large proteinaceous complexes that physically link centromeric DNA to the plus ends of spindle microtubules. Stable kinetochore–microtubule attachments are a prerequisite for the accurate and efficient distribution of genetic material over multiple generations. In the past decade, concerted research has resulted in the identification of the individual kinetochore building blocks, the characterization of critical microtubule-interacting components, such as the NDC80 complex, and the development of an approximate model of the architecture of this sophisticated biological machine.
• The 'ins' and 'outs' of podosomes and invadopodia: characteristics, formation and function
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):413 (2011)
  Podosomes and invadopodia are actin-based dynamic protrusions of the plasma membrane of metazoan cells that represent sites of attachment to — and degradation of — the extracellular matrix. The key proteins in these structures include the actin regulators cortactin and neural Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), the adaptor proteins Tyr kinase substrate with four SH3 domains (TKS4) and Tyr kinase substrate with five SH3 domains (TKS5), and the metalloprotease membrane type 1 matrix metalloprotease (MT1MMP; also known as MMP14). Many cell types can produce these structures, including invasive cancer cells, vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, and immune cells such as macrophages and dendritic cells. Recently, progress has been made in our understanding of the regulatory and functional aspects of podosome and invadopodium biology and their role in human disease.
• Cubism and the cell cycle: the many faces of the APC/C
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):427 (2011)
  One does not often look to analytic cubism for insights into the control of the cell cycle, but Pablo Picasso beautifully encapsulated the fundamentals when he said that "every act of creation is, first of all, an act of destruction". The rapid destruction of specific cell cycle regulators at just the right moment in the cell cycle ensures that daughter cells receive an equal and identical set of chromosomes from their mother and that DNA replication always follows mitosis. Remarkably, one protein complex is responsible for this surgical precision, the APC/C (anaphase-promoting complex, also known as the cyclosome). The APC/C is tightly regulated by its co-activators and by the spindle assembly checkpoint.
• Ubiquitylation in apoptosis: a post-translational modification at the edge of life and death
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):439 (2011)
  The proper regulation of apoptosis is essential for the survival of multicellular organisms. Furthermore, excessive apoptosis can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, anaemia and graft rejection, and diminished apoptosis can lead to autoimmune diseases and cancer. It has become clear that the post-translational modification of apoptotic proteins by ubiquitylation regulates key components in cell death signalling cascades. For example, ubiquitin E3 ligases, such as MDM2 (which ubiquitylates p53) and inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, and deubiquitinases, such as A20 and ubiquitin-specific protease 9X (USP9X) (which regulate the ubiquitylation and degradation of receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) and myeloid leukaemia cell differentiation 1 (MCL1), respectively), have important roles in apoptosis. Therapeutic agents that target apoptotic regulatory proteins, including those that are part of the ubiquitin–proteasome system, might afford clinical benefits.
• Mechanisms of nuclear reprogramming by eggs and oocytes: a deterministic process?
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(7):453 (2011)
  Differentiated cells can be experimentally reprogrammed back to pluripotency by nuclear transfer, cell fusion or induced pluripotent stem cell technology. Nuclear transfer and cell fusion can lead to efficient reprogramming of gene expression. The egg and oocyte reprogramming process includes the exchange of somatic proteins for oocyte proteins, the post-translational modification of histones and the demethylation of DNA. These events occur in an ordered manner and on a defined timescale, indicating that reprogramming by nuclear transfer and by cell fusion rely on deterministic processes.