December in preprints – the CellBio edition

Cell cycle and division

CENcyclopedia: Dynamic Landscape of Kinetochore Architecture Throughout the Cell Cycle

Yu-Chia Chen, Ece Kilic, Evelyn Wang, Will Rossman, Aussie Suzuki

https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.05.627000

This preprint is catchy because it provides a comprehensive profile of the structural and functional dynamics of 31 kinetochore proteins throughout the cell cycle using quantitative fluorescence microscopy.

Picked by: Sristilekha Nath

From Chen et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Cell migration and cytoskeleton

Single cell migration along and against confined haptotactic gradients

Isabela Corina Fortunato, David B. Brückner, Steffen Grosser, Leone Rossetti, Miquel Bosch-Padrós, Jonel Trebicka, Pere Roca-Cusachs, Raimon Sunyer, Edouard Hannezo, Xavier Trepat

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.02.626413v1

Sristilekha Nath: This interesting study tests cell migration under different ECM density gradients and confinement conditions. The authors found different cell trajectories under these varied conditions potentially giving insights into how cells under impaired conditions might manage to escape from or infiltrate into a particular microenvironment.

Girish Kale: This study show that confinement and persistence of movement dictate the ability of cells to sense (and respond to) gradients of ligand density.

Fast label-free live imaging reveals key roles of flow dynamics and CD44-HA interaction in cancer cell arrest on endothelial monolayers

Gautier Follain, Sujan Ghimire, Joanna W. Pylvänäinen, Monika Vaitkevičiūtė, Diana Wurzinger, Camilo Guzmán, James RW Conway, Michal Dibus, Sanna Oikari, Kirsi Rilla, Marko Salmi, Johanna Ivaska, Guillaume Jacquemet

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.30.615654v1

The authors developed a new method for observing the arrest of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) using label-free microscopy and showed that CD44 and its ligand hyaluronic acid (HA) are essential for cancer cell attachment to the endothelium. Also (as a plus), the authors included a great presentation which is available online: https://www.beautiful.ai/player/-ODGe0_BmN_xu1Y7Yyv5/Fast-label-free-live-imaging-rev[…]-interaction-in-cancer-cell-arrest-on-endothelial-monolayers

Picked by: Felipe Del Valle Batalla

From Follain et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.

Optogenetically Induced Microtubule Acetylation Unveils the Molecular Dynamics of Actin-Microtubule Crosstalk in Directed Cell Migration

Abhijit Deb Roy, Cristian Saez Gonzalez, Farid Shahid, Eesha Yadav, Takanari Inoue

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.01.626286v1

This is a nice preprint investigating the role of microtubule acetylation on cellular migration. A stand out feature is the use of an optogenetic tool to induce acetylation in situ to analyse its involvement in migration in real time.

Picked by: Matthew Davies

Optogenetic actin network assembly on lipid bilayer uncovers the network density-dependent functions of actin-binding proteins

Kei Yamamoto, Makito Miyazaki

https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.25.630233

In this preprint a novel optogenetics-based method for regulating actin assembly on a lipid bilayer has been developed and used to demonstrate that the ability of actin binding proteins, including myosin and cofilin, to interact with and remodel actin filaments strictly depends on the density of the actin network.

Picked by: Barbora Knotkova

Cell organelles and organisation

Cytokinesis-dependent twisting of HMR-1/Cadherin regulates the first left-right symmetry-breaking event in Caenorhabditis elegans

Mi Jing Khor, Gaganpreet Sangha, Kenji Sugioka

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.12.628066v1

The authors of this preprint sought to determine the molecular basis of the first left-right symmetry-breaking event in the early C. elegans embryo. They find that chiral cortical flow twists patches of adhesion molecule Cadherin, generating asymmetry at the 4-6 cell stage.

Picked by: Matthew Davies

From Khor et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.

Molecular basis for the assembly of the Vps5-Vps17 SNX-BAR proteins with Retromer

Kai-En Chen, Vikas A. Tillu, Navin Gopaldass, Sudeshna Roy Chowdhury, Natalya Leneva, Oleksiy Kovtun, Juanfang Ruan, Qian Guo, Nicholas Ariotti, Andreas Mayer, Brett M. Collins

https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.24.586500

This preprint investigates the molecular basis of the assembly of sorting nexins into the retromer which together facilitates the recycling of cargo from the endosome back to the plasma membrane. By using a range of in vitro and in vivo methods, it reconciles models previously derived from structural data and in vivo studies.

Picked by: Barbora Knotkova

Cells Prioritize the Regulation of Cell Mass Density

Jinyu Fu, Qin Ni, Yufei Wu, Anoushka Gupta, Zhuoxu Ge, Hongru Yang, Yasin Afrida, Ishan Barman, Sean X. Sun

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.10.627803v1

This paper is interesting because it provides evidence that cells actively regulate their mass density (CMD) to maintain a stable internal environment, particularly following changes in environmental osmolarity.

Picked by: Felipe Del Valle Batalla

FAM162A is Crucial for Mitochondrial Structure, Dynamics, and Bioenergetics, Driving Cellular Protection and Longevity

Andrea Matamoros, Juan Pablo Soffia, Marcelo Muñoz, Michael Maturana, Alvaro Gonzalez-Ibañez, Gabriela Gomez-Lillo, Cesar Astorga, Lina M. Ruiz, Ramón Jorquera, Alvaro A. Elorza

https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.26.630390

The so far not well-characterised protein FAM162A is exposed as yet another factor shaping the mitochondrial network, possibly in association with OPA1, and is demonstrated to promote cell survival.

Picked by: Barbora Knotkova

From Matamoros et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Cell signalling and mechanosensing

Pol II degradation activates cell death independently from the loss of transcription

Nicholas W. Harper, Gavin A. Birdsall, Megan E. Honeywell, Athma A. Pai, Michael J. Lee

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.09.627542v1

An interesting preprint that reveals a novel apoptotic signalling response downstream of RNA polymerase II degradation. It was previously thought that cell death downstream of this was due to passive mRNA loss, rather than an active mechanism. Here, the authors reveal that some anti-cancer drugs actually target this newly discovered signalling mechanism.

Picked by: Matthew Davies

Parkinson’s disease-associated Pink1 loss disrupts vesicle trafficking in Ensheathing glia causing dopaminergic neuron synapse loss

Lorenzo Ghezzi, Ulrike Pech, Nils Schoovaerts, Suresh Poovathingal, Kristofer Davie, Jochen Lamote, Roman Praschberger, Patrik Verstreken

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.06.627235v1

This study highlights the importance of neuron-glia crosstalk in Parkinson’s Disease pathogenesis and suggests that targeting vesicle trafficking, particularly the Rab7 pathway, represents a promising therapeutic strategy.

Picked by: Felipe Del Valle Batalla

From Ghezzi et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.

Fibroblast mechanoperception instructs pulmonary developmental and pattern specification gene expression programs

Andrew E Miller, Ping Hu, Rishi Bhogaraju, Riley T Hannan, Daniel Abebayehu, Mete Civelek, Thomas H Barker

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.26.630418v1

I found this preprint quite interesting. Although gene expression regulation downstream of mechanotransduction is well-studied, its regulation following perturbed mechanotransduction isn’t. To address this, the authors here genetically perturb mechanoperception in lung fibroblasts and use an array of mulit-omic techniques to assess the effect on gene expression broadly.

Picked by: Matthew Davies

Engineering tissue-mimetic hydrogels with continuous viscoelastic gradient for programmed cell migration

Haochen Yang, Ziyuan Li, Meng Li, Yuxing Shang, Linjie Chen, Yifan Ge, Junji Zhang, He Tian

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.24.630289v1

By incorporating precise viscoelastic gradients, the authors created a tissue-mimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) that provides an ideal platform for studies in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. They highlight how cellular behaviors, such as directed migration and spreading, are influenced by the ECM’s viscosity and elasticity, primarily through FAK-YAP-mediated mechanosensing.

Picked by: Sristilekha Nath

From Yang et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Genetics/gene expression

RNA encodes physical information

Ian Seim, Vita Zhang, Ameya P. Jalihal, Benjamin M. Stormo, Sierra J. Cole, Joanne Ekena, Hung T. Nguyen, D. Thirumalai, Amy S. Gladfelter

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.11.627970v1

This paper is interesting because it demonstrates that synonymous mutations in mRNA can alter RNA structure and impact the formation and material properties of biomolecular condensates, thus showing that RNA encodes physical information as well as genetic information.

Picked by: Felipe Del Valle Batalla

From Seim et al. (2024). This image is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.