Cell Biology

MIRO1 controls energy production and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells

1. Lan Qian
2. Olha M Koval
3. Benney T Endoni
4. Denise Juhr
5. Colleen S Stein
6. Chantal Allamargot
7. Li-Hsien Lin
8. Deng-Fu Guo
9. Kamal Rahmouni
10. Antentor O Hinton
11. E Dale Abel
12. Ryan L Boudreau
13. Jennifer Streeter
14. William H Thiel
15. Isabella M Grumbach

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study highlights the role of MIRO1 in regulating mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in smooth muscle cells, a process that appears necessary to sustain their proliferation. Overall, the work provides solid evidence that mitochondrial positioning and function influence vascular disease, although several bioenergetic and mechanistic aspects would benefit from deeper investigation.

Reviewed by eLife

Membrane rupture and independent extension of sister membranes drive cytokinesis in C. elegans embryos

1. Jingjing Liang
2. Tingrui Huang
3. Xun Huang
4. Mei Ding

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this manuscript, based on electron microscopy observations of C. elegans embryos, the authors make the bold claim that the plasma membrane ruptures during cell division and that closure of this opening by membrane extension contributes to cytokinesis. Although the findings are potentially valuable, the evidence in support of the authors' claims is inadequate.

Reviewed by eLife

Fluorescence Lifetime Unmixing: A New Workflow for FLIM Live-Cell Imaging

1. Cornelia Wetzker
2. Marcelo Leomil Zoccoler
3. Svetlana Iarovenko
4. Chukwuebuka William Okafornta
5. Anja Nobst
6. Hella Hartmann
7. Thomas Müller-Reichert
8. Robert Haase
9. Gunar Fabig

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Physiological febrile heat stress increases cytoadhesion through increased protein trafficking of Plasmodium falciparum surface proteins into the red blood cell

1. David Jones
2. Hugo Belda
3. Malgorzata Broncel
4. Gwendolin Fuchs
5. David Anaguano
6. Stephanie D Nofal
7. Moritz Treeck

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides compelling evidence that fever-like temperatures enhance the export of Plasmodium falciparum transmembrane proteins, including the cytoadherence protein PfEMP1 and the nutrient channel PSAC, to the red blood cell surface, thereby increasing cytoadhesion. Using rigorous and well-controlled experiments, the authors convincingly demonstrate that this effect results from accelerated protein trafficking rather than changes in protein production or parasite development. These findings significantly advance our understanding of parasite virulence mechanisms and offer insights into how febrile episodes may exacerbate malaria severity.

Reviewed by eLife

The Multifaceted Role of EXOC6A in Ciliogenesis

1. Te-Lin Lin
2. Chien-Ting Wu
3. Tang K Tang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study elucidates the role of the exocyst component EXOC6A at distinct stages of ciliogenesis, which advances our understanding of ciliary membrane remodeling and cilium formation. The authors provide compelling evidence through high quality light and electron microscopic imaging, and careful analysis of knockout cell lines, that EXOC6A interacts with myosin-Va and is dynamically recruited via dynein-, microtubule-, and actin-dependent mechanisms, to support proper formation of the ciliary membrane. The study will be of interest to cell biologists and other researchers interested in vesicular trafficking, organellar membrane dynamics, and ciliogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife

Temporally controlled nervous system-to-gut signaling bidirectionally regulates longevity in C. elegans

1. Lingxiu Xu
2. Chengxuan Han
3. Lei Chun
4. XZ Shawn Xu
5. Jianfeng Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study that addresses the temporal aspects of cell non-autonomous regulation of lifespan. It demonstrates that the same neurons and neurotransmitter have distinct impacts on longevity at different ages. The data convincingly supports the authors' claims.

Reviewed by eLife

Specialisation of meiotic kinetochores revealed through a synthetic spindle assembly checkpoint strategy

1. Lori B Koch
2. Tiasha Ghosh
3. Christos Spanos
4. Adele L Marston

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Koch et al. describe a valuable novel methodology, SynSAC, to synchronise cells to analyse meiosis I or meiosis II or mitotic metaphase in budding yeast. The authors present convincing data to validate abscisic acid-induced dimerisation to induce a synthetic spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) arrest that will be of particular importance to analyse meiosis II. The authors use their approach to determine the composition and phosphorylation of kinetochores from meiotic metaphase I and metaphase II that will be of interest to the broader meiosis research community.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

THE FAM53C/DYRK1A axis regulates the G1/S transition of the cell cycle

1. Taylar Hammond
2. Jong Bin Choi
3. Miles W Membreño
4. Janos Demeter
5. Roy Ng
6. Debadrita Bhattacharya
7. Thuyen N Nguyen
8. Griffin G Hartmann
9. Caterina I Colón
10. Carine Bossard
11. Jan M Skotheim
12. Peter K Jackson
13. Anca Pasca
14. Seth M Rubin
15. Julien Sage

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study identifies the uncharacterised protein FAM53C as a novel, potential regulator of the G1/S cell cycle transition, linking its function to the DYRK1A kinase and the RB/p53 pathways. The work is valuable and of interest to the cell cycle field, leveraging a strong computational screen to identify a new candidate. The findings are solid, although confidence in the siRNA depletion phenotypes would have been higher with rescue experiments using an siRNA-resistant cDNA.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Orderly mitosis shapes interphase genome architecture

1. Krishnendu Guin
2. Adib Keikhosravi
3. Raj Chari
4. Gianluca Pegoraro
5. Tom Misteli

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study combines microscopy and CRISPR screening to identify factors involved in global chromatin organisation, using centromere clustering as a proxy. The authors present solid evidence demonstrating that acute depletion of a range of mitotic regulators alters centromere distribution in interphase. The work will be of interest to researchers studying genome organisation, nuclear architecture, chromosome biology, and the mechanisms linking mitosis to interphase nuclear organisation.

Reviewed by eLife

Adaptation of eukaryotic membrane homeostasis to species-specific cellular lipid landscapes

1. Elisa Gomez-Gil
2. Paolo Guerra
3. Ying Gu
4. Sherman Foo
5. Benedicte Billard
6. Gabor Balogh
7. Maria Peter
8. Snezhana Oliferenko

Reviewed by Arcadia Science