Cell Biology

Accessibility of the unstructured α-tubulin C-terminal tail is controlled by microtubule lattice conformation

1. Takashi Hotta
2. Morgan L Pimm
3. Ezekiel C Thomas
4. Yang Yue
5. Patrick DeLear
6. Lynne Blasius
7. Michael Cianfrocco
8. Morgan DeSantis
9. Ryota Horiuchi
10. Takumi Higaki
11. David Sept
12. Ryoma Ohi
13. Kristen J Verhey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work reveals that the accessibility of the unstructured C-terminal tails of α- and β-tubulins differs with the state of the microtubule lattice. Their accessibility increases with the expansion of the lattice induced by GTP and certain MAPs, which can then dictate the subsequent interactions between MAPs and microtubules, and post-translational modifications of tubulin tails. The evidence supporting the conclusion is compelling, although the characterisation of the probes does not answer whether they directly affect the lattice or expose the C-terminal tails of tubulin. The probes can be used as tools in the future to study differences in microtubule lattice assembly under different conditions both in vitro and in vivo. This work will be of great interest to the cytoskeleton field.

Reviewed by eLife

Plasmin activity and sterile inflammation synergize to promote lethal embryonic liver degeneration

1. Meng-Ling Wu
2. Courtney T. Griffin

Reviewed by Review Commons

Defining the chromatin-associated protein landscapes on Trypanosoma brucei repetitive elements using synthetic TALE proteins

1. Roberta Carloni
2. Tadhg Devlin
3. Pin Tong
4. Christos Spanos
5. Tanya Auchynnikava
6. Juri Rappsilber
7. Keith R Matthews
8. Robin C Allshire

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work significantly advances our understanding of chromatin organization within regions of repetitive sequences in the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei. Using cutting edge interdisciplinary tools, the authors provide compelling evidence for two discrete types of repetitive DNA element-associated proteins- one set involved in essential centromere function; and, the other involved in glycoprotein antigenic variation via homologous recombination. Thus, these fundamental findings have implications for this parasite's biology, and for therapeutic targeting in kinetoplastid diseases. This work will be exciting to those in the centromere/mitosis and parasite immunity fields.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

KANK2 at focal adhesion regulates their maintenance and dynamics, while at fibrillar adhesions it influences cell migration via microtubule-dependent mechanism

1. Nikolina Stojanović
2. Anja Rac
3. Marija Lončarić
4. Ana Tadijan
5. Mladen Paradžik
6. Marta Acman
7. Jonathan D. Humphries
8. Martin J. Humphries
9. Andreja Ambriović-Ristov

Reviewed by preLights

Contractile peri-nuclear actomyosin network repositions peripheral and polar chromosomes to promote early kinetochore–microtubule interactions

1. Nooshin Sheidaei
2. John K. Eykelenboom
3. Zuojun Yue
4. Graeme Ball
5. Alexander J.R. Booth
6. Tomoyuki U. Tanaka

Reviewed by Review Commons

Histone methyltransferase DOT1L differentially affects the development of dendritic cell subsets

1. Rianne G. Bouma
2. Willem-Jan de Leeuw
3. Aru Z. Wang
4. Muddassir Malik
5. Joeke G.C. Stolwijk
6. Veronique A.L. Konijn
7. Anne Mensink
8. Natalie Proost
9. Maarten K. Nijen Twilhaar
10. Tibor van Welsem
11. Negisa Seyed Toutounchi
12. Alsya J. Affandi
13. Jip T. van Dinter
14. Fred van Leeuwen
15. Joke M.M. den Haan

Reviewed by Review Commons

Division Asymmetry Drives Cell Size Variability in Budding Yeast

1. Félix Proulx-Giraldeau
2. Xin Gao
3. Yagya Chadha
4. Jordan Xiao
5. Kurt M Schmoller
6. Jan M Skotheim
7. Paul Francois

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The presented findings are important for the field of cell-cycle control. They provide new insights into the origin of cell size variability in budding yeast. The strength of evidence is solid. However, the conclusions could be more strongly supported by additional analysis.

Reviewed by eLife, Arcadia Science

Lysosome-Dependent Sphingolipid Regulation as a potential therapeutic Target for Cohen Syndrome

1. Fabrizio Vacca
2. Renuka Prasad
3. Huda Barakullah
4. Romain Da Costa
5. Stefania Vossio
6. Dimitri Moreau
7. Woong Sun
8. Howard Riezman
9. Muhammad Ansar

Reviewed by Review Commons

Cdk1 and PP2A constitute a molecular switch controlling orderly degradation of atypical E2Fs

1. Sapir Nachum-Raines
2. Noy Gamliel
3. Danit Wasserman
4. Nasrin Qassem
5. Inbal Sher
6. Julia Guez-Haddad
7. Michael J Emanuele
8. Jordan H Chill
9. Amit Tzur

Reviewed by Review Commons

Efficiency and localisation of AURKA degradation by PROTACs is modulated by deubiquitinases UCHL5 and target-selective OTUD6A

1. Annabel Cardno
2. Karen Roberts
3. Catherine Lindon

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study describes a genetic screen to identify deubiquitinases (DUBs) that counteract the activity of small molecule degraders (PROTACs). The presented data is valuable, identifying OTUD6A and UCHL5 as DUBs that impact the efficacy and potency of PROTAC-mediated degradation in distinct subcellular compartments. While the conclusions are broadly supported and the methods employed are solid, the validation of OTUD6A and UCHL5 mechanisms requires additional study. Overall, these findings merit further evaluation by the targeted protein degradation community when developing and optimizing PROTACs and efforts to achieve compartment-specific degradation.

Reviewed by eLife