Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology

Boveri revisited: chromosomal instability, aneuploidy and tumorigenesis
by Andrew J. HollandDon W. Cleveland
The mitotic checkpoint is a major cell cycle control mechanism that guards against chromosome missegregation and the subsequent production of aneuploid daughter cells. Most cancer cells are aneuploid and frequently missegregate chromosomes during mitosis. Indeed, aneuploidy is a common characteristic of tumours, and, for over
Collective cell migration in morphogenesis, regeneration and cancer
by Peter FriedlDarren Gilmour
The collective migration of cells as a cohesive group is a hallmark of the tissue remodelling events that underlie embryonic morphogenesis, wound repair and cancer invasion. In such migration, cells move as sheets, strands, clusters or ducts rather than individually, and use similar actin- and
In brief
Membrane trafficking
From the editors
Studying the movements of single cells has enabled great advances in our understanding of the general mechanisms that underlie cell migration. Effective cell migration requires the integration of localized and transient signals with changes in cellular architecture, cell adhesion and asymmetric polarization. As a result,
Bio-art: the ethics behind the aesthetics
by Frances Stracey
20 May 2009 at 12:00am
Bio-art represents a crossover of art and the biological sciences, with living matter, such as genes, cells or animals, as its new media. Such manipulations of life require collaborations with scientists and considerable financial backing. Herein, I consider bio-art that goes 'under the skin' ?
Seeing red
by Katharine H. Wrighton
28 May 2009 at 12:00am
The power of fluorescent proteins in biological research was acknowledged in 2008, when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the scientists who discovered and pioneered the use of jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP). One of these Nobel laureates, Roger Tsien, is in the
Membrane trafficking: Lipid sorting and clustering
by Alicia Chung
28 May 2009 at 12:00am
Intracellular trafficking ensures the proper delivery of proteins and lipids to different parts of the cell. However, the process by which lipids are sorted and enriched at the plasma membrane remains unclear. Klemm et al. now provide new insights into this process by showing
Apoptosis: Death by ubiquitylation
by Katharine H Wrighton
3 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
The extrinsic pathway of apoptosis is initiated when certain tumour necrosis factor superfamily ligands, such as APO2L (also known as TNFSF10 or TRAIL), activate cell surface death receptors. The ligand?receptor complex interacts with FAS-associated death domain protein, an adaptor protein that recruits caspase 8
Gene expression: UV-induced coupling
by Arianne Heinrichs
3 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
Alternative splicing (AS) is thought to be a key response to DNA damage because many apoptotic genes are alternatively spliced, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. A new study by Kornblihtt and colleagues reports that ultraviolet (UV) irradiation triggers co-transcriptional AS, through the hyperphosphorylation of
Dynamics and diversity in autophagy mechanisms: lessons from yeast
by Hitoshi NakatogawaKuninori SuzukiYoshiaki KamadaYoshinori Ohsumi
3 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
Autophagy is a fundamental function of eukaryotic cells and is well conserved from yeast to humans. The most remarkable feature of autophagy is the synthesis of double membrane-bound compartments that sequester materials to be degraded in lytic compartments, a process that seems to be mechanistically
Clearing the way for mitosis: is cohesin a target?
by Mitsuhiro Yanagida
3 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
In interphase, chromosomes are associated with proteins and RNAs that participate in many processes, such as DNA replication, transcription, recombination and repair of DNA damage. These components (for example, cohesin) might have to be removed during mitosis, as they might become obstacles that inhibit chromosome
Gene expression: Complex interactions
by Francesca Cesari
10 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
Transcription factors (TFs) and their DNA-binding sites are crucial components of gene regulatory networks that control myriad cellular processes. However, the DNA-binding specificities of only a few TFs have been sufficiently characterized to enable the prediction of the sequences that they can and cannot bind
Protein degradation: Assembly from the base
by Arianne Heinrichs
10 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
The 26S proteasome comprises the 20S proteolytic core particle (CP) and the 19S regulatory particle (RP), which consists of a lid subcomplex and a base subcomplex. Whereas the mechanisms underlying CP assembly are well established, little is known about how the RP forms. Several groups
Proximal events in Wnt signal transduction
by Stephane AngersRandall T. Moon
17 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
The Wnt family of secreted ligands act through many receptors to stimulate distinct intracellular signalling pathways in embryonic development, in adults and in disease processes. Binding of Wnt to the Frizzled family of receptors and to low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) or LRP6
Cell signalling: A fertility network
by Simon Bishop
17 Jun 2009 at 12:00am
Mammalian fertility depends on luteinizing hormone (LH)-induced changes in ovarian follicular growth. A new study now reveals some of the signalling components that effect these changes.As oocytes mature and follicles grow, the somatic granulosa cells (GCs) in the ovarian follicle terminally differentiate into luteal

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