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

The Oct 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(10):621 (2011)
  
• Cell cycle: The division belt | PDF (199 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):622 (2011)
  The ability to visualize chromosome movements during cell division with unprecedented accuracy reveals a new feature of chromosome alignment during prometaphase. In Cell, two studies report that, in both mitosis and meiosis I, chromosomes align into an equatorial ring prior to bi-orientation — the configuration required for chromosome separation, in which kinetochores are stably attached to microtubules from the opposite poles of the spindle — and that the ring arrangement facilitates spindle assembly.
• Chromatin: Stress inhibits replication through JNK1 signalling | PDF (173 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):623 (2011)
  To protect the integrity of the genome in conditions of environmental stress, cells temporarily inhibit DNA replication. Miotto and Struhl now identify a signalling pathway linking environmental stress to the initiation of DNA replication.
• Deconstructing dynamin | Tuning CaMKII | PDF (95 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):623 (2011)
  Dynamin-related proteins (DRPs) are multidomain GTPases that can regulate membrane remodelling events. Although DRPs are known to undergo oligomerization and GTP-dependent conformational changes, it is less clear how these properties drive membrane remodelling.
• Telomeres: Fusing with RNF8 | PDF (180 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):624 (2011)
  The E3 ubiquitin ligase RING finger 8 (RNF8) promotes DNA repair by mediating the assembly of repair complexes at DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Peuscher and Jacobs now show that RNF8 has a detrimental role at uncapped telomeres, mediating telomere fusion and promoting genome instability.
• Cell division: Repo-Man's extra exit strategy | PDF (234 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):624 (2011)
  Protein phosphatase 1γ (PP1γ) is recruited to mitotic chromatin at anaphase by its regulatory subunit Repo-Man (also known as CDCA2), where it promotes dephosphorylation of histone H3 and chromosome decondensation. Vagnarelli et al.
• Cell death: Linking metabolism to apoptotic sensitivity | PDF (498 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):625 (2011)
  Studies have suggested that specific metabolites contribute to apoptotic resistance, but the mechanism behind this has been unclear. Yi et al.Nα-acetylation), to promote apoptotic resistance.
• Cell division: CENPA's tail rules the centromere | PDF (140 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):626 (2011)
  The histone H3 variant centromere protein A (CENPA) is essential for centromere and kinetochore formation in eukaryotes, but how it directs their formation was unclear. Now, by generating reconstituted CENPA chromatin in vitro, Guse et al.
• Cell signalling | Plant cell biology | Cell signalling | PDF (97 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):626 (2011)
  Mindbomb 1, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, forms a complex with RYK to activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling Berndt, J. D.et al. J. Cell Biol., 737–750 (2011)
• Cell death: Phagocytes whet their appetite | PDF (178 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):627 (2011)
  The engulfment ability of a phagocyte is controlled by its mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), according to a study by Ravichandran and colleagues.
• Membrane dynamics: ER marks the spot | PDF (153 KB)
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):627 (2011)
  The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria are known to be intimate, showing stable contacts that can affect lipid synthesis and calcium signalling between the two organelles. The Voeltz laboratory, in collaboration with the Nunnari laboratory, has followed the relative dynamics of these organelles more closely and found that ER contact with mitochondria may actively trigger mitochondrial constriction and subsequent division.
• Deciphering arginine methylation: Tudor tells the tale
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):629 (2011)
  Proteins can be modified by post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, methylation, acetylation and ubiquitylation, creating binding sites for specific protein domains. Methylation has pivotal roles in the formation of complexes that are involved in cellular regulation, including in the generation of small RNAs. Arginine methylation was discovered half a century ago, but the ability of methylarginine sites to serve as binding motifs for members of the Tudor protein family, and the functional significance of the protein–protein interactions that are mediated by Tudor domains, has only recently been appreciated. Tudor proteins are now known to be present in PIWI complexes, where they are thought to interact with methylated PIWI proteins and regulate the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway in the germ line.
• Dynamic niches in the origination and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):643 (2011)
  Haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are multipotent, self-renewing progenitors that generate all mature blood cells. HSC function is tightly controlled to maintain haematopoietic homeostasis, and this regulation relies on specialized cells and factors that constitute the haematopoietic 'niche', or microenvironment. Recent discoveries, aided in part by technological advances in in vivo imaging, have engendered a new appreciation for the dynamic nature of the niche, identifying novel cellular and acellular niche components and uncovering fluctuations in the relative importance of these components over time. These new insights significantly improve our understanding of haematopoiesis and raise fundamental questions about what truly constitutes a stem cell niche.
• Proteins on the move: insights gained from fluorescent protein technologies
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):656 (2011)
  Proteins are always on the move, and this may occur through diffusion or active transport. The realization that the regulation of signal transduction is highly dynamic in space and time has stimulated intense interest in the movement of proteins. Over the past decade, numerous new technologies using fluorescent proteins have been developed, allowing us to observe the spatiotemporal dynamics of proteins in living cells. These technologies have greatly advanced our understanding of protein dynamics, including protein movement and protein interactions.
• A decade of molecular cell biology: achievements and challenges
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):669 (2011)
  Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology celebrated its 10-year anniversary during this past year with a series of specially commissioned articles. To complement this, here we have asked researchers from across the field for their insights into how molecular cell biology research has evolved during this past decade, the key concepts that have emerged and the most promising interfaces that have developed. Their comments highlight the broad impact that particular advances have had, some of the basic understanding that we still require, and the collaborative approaches that will be essential for driving the field forward.
• Insights into autotaxin: how to produce and present a lipid mediator
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):674 (2011)
  Autotaxin (ATX) is a secreted phosphodiesterase that produces the lipid mediator lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). LPA acts through specific guanine-nucleotide-binding protein (G protein)-coupled receptors to stimulate migration, proliferation, survival and other functions in many cell types. ATX is important in vivo for processes as diverse as vasculogenesis, lymphocyte trafficking and tumour progression. However, the inner workings of ATX have long been elusive, in terms of both its substrate specificity and how localized LPA signalling is achieved. Structural studies have shown how ATX recognizes its substrates and may interact with the cell surface to promote specificity in LPA signalling.
• Discovering pluripotency: 30 years of mouse embryonic stem cells
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):680 (2011)
  Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells isolated from an early embryo and grown as a cell line in tissue culture. Their discovery came from the conjunction of studies in human pathology, mouse genetics, early mouse embryo development, cell surface immunology and tissue culture. ES cells provided a crucial tool for manipulating mouse embryos to study mouse genetics, development and physiology. They have not only revolutionized experimental mammalian genetics but, with the advent of equivalent human ES cells, have now opened new vistas for regenerative medicine.
• The predator becomes the prey: regulating the ubiquitin system by ubiquitylation and degradation
  - Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 12(10):686 (2011)
  Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology12, 605–620 (2011) On page 619 of the above article, there was a mistake in the highlighted reference comment under reference 54: "53" in the second sentence should have been "54" ("Reference 54 is the first clear example of the targeting of one E3 family by another."). We apologize for any confusion caused to readers.