Articles in 2016

BRCA1 is a key regulator of DNA double-strand break repair, functioning to promote homologous recombination and repress non-homologous end-joining. Here the authors show that the ubiquitin ligase UHRF1 is recruited to breaks by BRCA1, where it targets RIF1 and thereby facilitates recombination.

DCAF1 (VprBP), an HIV target protein, is a component of an ubiquitin ligase complex involved in developmental processes in plants and animals. Here, DCAF1 is shown to be vital for activation-induced T cell growth and proliferation, partly by being required for p53’s ubiquitination and degradation.

Cryptic translation of the 'non-coding' genome is increasingly recognised, however its biological significance remains unclear. Laumont et al.employ proteogenomic techniques to map the human immunoproteome, and find that approximately 10% of MHC class I-associated peptides are cryptic.

Cells are recognized as having viscoelastic properties, but whether the cytoplasm resembles a viscoelastic liquid or an elastic gel is still debated. Here the authors use micron-sized wires rotating at variable speeds to show that the cytoplasm has properties of a viscoelastic liquid.

During an immune response, CD4+ T cell repertoire is thought to increase in avidity at the expense of diversity. Here the authors show that B cells act as antigen-presenting cells to boost the development of low-avidity T cell clones, diversifying the T cell repertoire at late stages of the response.

The application of resonant electron spin ensembles to the study electronic systems can be limited in spatial resolution above the micrometre scale. Here, the authors use nitrogen vacancies to probe the paramagnetic background in diamond via spin resonance spectra dominated by single local spins.

Polyisoprenyl-glycosyltransferases (PI-GTs) catalyse the addition of sugar to lipid carriers, which is the first step in the production of sugar donors for glycosylation. Here Ardiccioni et al.present the structure of a bacterial PI-GT and propose a mechanistic basis for sugar transfer.

Using a chiral catalyst to override the innate stereochemical outcome of a diastereoselective process is a challenging task. Here, the authors use theory and experiment to develop a cycloisomerization where the enantioselectivity is driven by the electronic nature of the ligand regardless of the reaction's inherent diastereoselectivity.

Several histone modifiers have been implicated in the survival of multiple myeloma cells. Here, the authors reveal a role for the histone demethylase KDM3A in the survival of this haematologic cancer, and show that mechanistically KDM3A removes H3K9 methylation from the promoters of KLF2 and IRF4, genes essential for myeloma cell survival.

Histone methylation regulates gene expression. Here, Salifou et al.show that KDM4A, a histone lysine demethylase, regulates RNA polymerase I-driven transcription in a PI3K dependent manner, therefore linking nutrients and growth factors availability to ribosomal RNA transcription.

Beige adipocytes are formed in response to cold and thought to contribute to organismal energy homeostasis. Here, the authors study a range of conditional and inducible RFP-expressing Cre mouse strains and find that SMA-based lines are the most useful for mapping beige adipocyte progenitor cells.

c-MYC genomic distribution is dictated by the epigenetic context but the mechanisms are unknown. Here, the authors show that c-MYC requires the chromatin reader BPTF to activate its transcriptional program and promote tumour development in vivo, suggesting that BPTF is a potential target for cancer therapy.

During metaphase, k-fibre microtubules exert force on kinetochores, but there are also non-kinetochore microtubules close to kinetochores without a known function. Here the authors show that these microtubules, which they call bridging fibres, balance interkinetochore tension by bridging sister k-fibres.

BioLEDs is an emerging group of light-emitting diodes that use duplex-strand DNA to enhance luminescence intensity. Here, Back et al.show that only the specific binding between a pair of single-strand DNA can trigger the enhancement, which potentially makes BioLEDs an easy platform for DNA recognition.

Most artificial microdevices include biomimetic features, but existing systems do not yet match living microorganisms in speed and direction control. Here, Tasci et al. use a rotating magnetic field to reversibly assemble colloidal particles into wheels that translate at velocities approaching 100 μm s⁻¹.

Scanning helium microscopy uses neutral atoms to image traditionally challenging materials (e.g. delicate, insulating and magnetic samples) non-destructively with absolute surface sensitivity. This work reports the first observation of chemical contrast in helium microscopy via inelastic scattering.

The self-assembly of soft matter is sensitive to their morphology, which is changeable. Here, Kim et al.show how evaporation and condensation at high temperature modify the surface of a smectic liquid crystal film in a way controlled by the local Gaussian and mean curvature of its layered structure.

Tumour samples are heterogeneous and are comprised of multiple cell types in addition to cancer cells. Here, the authors devised a method to estimate the relative levels of haematopoietic cells in breast cancer samples and demonstrate that this correlates with prognosis.

Different fibroblast growth factor (fgf) ligands elicit specific biological responses, but the mechanism directing this specificity is unknown. Here the authors show that fgf1 and fgf2 impose specific reorganizations on the fgf receptor dimer trans-membrane helices that result in distinct level of receptor activation.

How the local structure of water varies as a function of temperature is a long-studied topic, which is still under debate. Here, the authors show that dielectric susceptibility measurements might be used to probe and identify propagating optical phonon-like modes in the hydrogen-bond network of water.