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Tumour growth involves anomalies in cell cycle genes and emergent phenotypes, but the tumour proliferation rate (or mitotic index) is defined by just one marker, Ki-67. A study now integrates expression patterns of several markers to generate spatio-temporal maps of cell proliferation in cancer tissues.
Increased tRNA abundance and amino acid coupling generally promote increased oncogenesis. By contrast, a new study shows that in breast cancer, the leucyl-tRNA synthetase LARS suppresses transformation and tumour development by increasing tRNA-LeuCAG translation of certain tumour suppressor mRNAs.
What does an actively transcribing genomic locus look like? A recent study has taken advantage of large and highly expressed mammalian genes and used microscopy to find out. The discovery sheds light on transcription and its effect on chromosome structure and the spatial organization of gene loci.
Haematopoiesis is a process relying on haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their complex interactions with the microenvironment. A new study by Pinho et al. identifies the adhesion molecule VCAM1 as an immune checkpoint that protects haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, as well as leukaemic cells, from monocytic phagocytosis.
The integrity of the mitochondrial genome (mitochondrial DNA) is crucial for energy synthesis in all complex life. A study now reveals a vicious cycle of mtDNA replication within dysfunctional mitochondria that preferentially propagates genomes carrying deleterious mutations.
Mitochondria are asymmetrically distributed to the daughter cells according to their age. A study now identifies metabolic features associated with mitochondrial age that regulate cell fate decisions.
Extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity increases during tumour progression. In a recent study, Romani et al. delineated a connection between ECM stiffness and the redox response of disseminated tumour cells. Their results suggest that soft ECM promotes DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission and an NRF2-dependent antioxidant response.
Synthesis of the neurotransmitter GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) by glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) normally occurs in neurons. A study now shows that ectopic expression of GAD leads to GABA accumulation, enhanced tumour cell proliferation and immunosuppression, and blocking GABA signalling improves the anti-tumour efficacy of immunotherapy.
Epigenetic inheritance is the transfer of non-DNA information across generations. A new study identifies sperm-specific PEI granules as essential for paternal epigenetic inheritance. PEI granule partitioning to sperm requires palmitoylation and myosin VI activity, suggesting lipidation-dependent granule transport on vesicles.
Lipid metabolism is crucial for the execution of ferroptosis. A new study demonstrates that the function of the lipid metabolic enzyme ACSL4 is positively regulated by phosphorylation, leading to amplification of ferroptotic cell death. These results shed new light on the regulation of ferroptosis execution in cancer cells.
Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) facilitate the fast, yet highly selective, nucleocytoplasmic transport of molecules. A recent study describes a multicolour imaging approach to chart the paths for cargo molecules through the human NPC with real-time 3D visualization of nucleocytoplasmic transport events with high spatial and temporal precision.
Understanding how cancers react to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) trapping on DNA is crucial to thwart PARP inhibitor resistance. A recent study finds that trapped PARP1 is removed via the ubiquitin-dependent segregase p97, and that perturbing this molecular cascade increases PARP inhibitor cytotoxicity.
