Issues
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Cover Image
Cover Image
On the cover
A two-photon image of the optic tectum of a living zebrafish larva shows a radial cluster of neurons expressing Lifeact-GFP. Lifeact expression is driven by pcdh19 regulatory elements, thus revealing that neurons expressing Protocadherin19 form neuronal columns.
Image © 2015 Cooper et al.
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In This Issue
In Focus
How the optic tectum stacks up
Sticky proteins help create distinctive pattern in visual center of the zebrafish brain.
People & Ideas
Thomas Pucadyil: Piecing together membrane fission
Pucadyil investigates membrane fission using novel model membrane systems.
Editorial
New editorial board members
We are pleased to welcome several new JCB editorial board members.
Feature
Review
Report
Resonant microchannel volume and mass measurements show that suspended cells swell during mitosis
Suspended cells transiently increase their volume during mitosis because of ion exchange through the plasma membrane.
Optical volume and mass measurements show that mammalian cells swell during mitosis
Mammalian cells display a significant increase in volume during mitosis, which corresponds to a decrease in cell density, is linked to the mitotic state and not to the cell shape, and is independent of the actomyosin cortex.
Forcible destruction of severely misfolded mammalian glycoproteins by the non-glycoprotein ERAD pathway
Higher eukaryotes, but not yeast, are able to extract severely misfolded glycoproteins from the endoplasmic reticulum–associated degradation (ERAD) pathway for glycoproteins and target them to the ERAD pathway for non-glycoproteins to maintain the homeostasis of the ER.
The synaptonemal complex is assembled by a polySUMOylation-driven feedback mechanism in yeast
Synaptonemal complex (SC) assembly requires polySUMOylation of Ecm11, which promotes polymerization of Zip1, the transverse filament, whereas the N terminus of Zip1 activates Ecm11 polySUMOylation, suggesting that this positive feedback loop underpins SC assembly.
Titration of mitochondrial fusion rescues Mff-deficient cardiomyopathy
Mice deficient for mitochondrial fission factor (Mff) die from severe cardiomyopathy, but cardiac function, tissue integrity, and mitochondrial respiration are robustly rescued by rebalancing mitochondrial dynamics through deletion of Mitofusin 1 (Mfn1).
Protocadherins control the modular assembly of neuronal columns in the zebrafish optic tectum
δ-Protocadherins partition the zebrafish optic tectum into radial columns of neurons, and the neurons within a column are siblings derived from common neuronal progenitors.
Article
Histone demethylase KDM4B regulates otic vesicle invagination via epigenetic control of Dlx3 expression
In vertebrate embryos, the histone demethylase KDM4B affects otic placode proliferation, intercellular adhesion, and invagination by directly regulating Dlx3 expression.
The seipin complex Fld1/Ldb16 stabilizes ER–lipid droplet contact sites
Mutations in the seipin complex components Fld1 and Ldb16 result in the loss of lipid droplet identity and phospholipid packing defects, revealing a role of this complex in the stabilization of ER–lipid droplet contact sites.
The Numb/p53 circuitry couples replicative self-renewal and tumor suppression in mammary epithelial cells
A Numb/p53 circuitry exerts a potent tumor-suppressor function in the mammary gland by safeguarding against the emergence of cancer stem cells with unchecked self-renewal and tumorigenic potential.
PAK4 promotes kinase-independent stabilization of RhoU to modulate cell adhesion
PAK4, via a novel kinase-independent mechanism, protects RhoU from a Rab40A/Cullin 5 ubiquitin ligase complex–driven K48 ubiquitination to regulate breast cancer cell adhesion.
Oxidative stress–dependent phosphorylation activates ZNRF1 to induce neuronal/axonal degeneration
Oxidative stress induces EGFR-dependent phosphorylation and activation of ZNRF1 ubiquitin ligase in neurons, which promotes two major neurodegenerative pathways, apoptosis and axonal degeneration.
TDP-43 is intercellularly transmitted across axon terminals
A protein complementation assay quantifying TDP-43 oligomerization in living neurons shows microvesicular and bidirectional synaptic transmission of TDP-43 and TDP-43 seeding activity in human ALS postmortem brain tissue.
Tools
A bacterial type III secretion-based protein delivery tool for broad applications in cell biology
Protein delivery based on bacterial type III secretion allows controllable injection of bacterial, viral, and human proteins into target cells, functional interaction studies, targeting of proteins to subcellular locations, and systems-level signaling analysis of a given translocated protein.