Cell Biology

The fate of pyruvate dictates cell growth by modulating cellular redox potential

1. Ashish G Toshniwal
2. Geanette Lam
3. Alex J Bott
4. Ahmad A Cluntun
5. Rachel Skabelund
6. Hyuck-Jin Nam
7. Dona R Wisidagama
8. Carl S Thummel
9. Jared Rutter

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work demonstrates that compartmentalized cellular metabolism is a dominant input into cell size control in a variety of mammalian cell types and in Drosophila. The authors show that increased pyruvate import into the mitochondria in liver-like cells and in primary hepatocytes drives gluconeogenesis but reduces cellular amino acid production, suppressing protein synthesis. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with a variety of genetic and pharmacologic assays rigorously testing each step of the proposed mechanism. This work will be of interest to cell biologists, physiologists, and researchers interested in cell metabolism, and is significant because stem cells and many cancers exhibit metabolic rewiring of pyruvate metabolism.

Reviewed by eLife

Lipid packing contributes to the confinement of caveolae to the plasma membrane

1. Elin Larsson
2. Aleksei Kabedev
3. Hudson Pace
4. Jakob Lindwall
5. Fouzia Bano
6. Robert G Parton
7. Christel AS Bergström
8. Ingela Parmryd
9. Marta Bally
10. Richard Lundmark

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study reports the important finding that the dynamin inhibitor Dyngo-4a broadly affects lipid packing and plasma membrane dynamics, independently of its action on dynamin. While solid computational, biophysical, and cell-based evidence supports this conclusion, there is incomplete support for the authors' main claim on the role of lipid packing in caveolae internalization, as the causal relationship remains unclear and direct analyses are lacking. With stronger evidence, this work would be of significant interest to cell biologists, biophysicists, and chemists interested in membrane remodeling and drug-membrane interactions.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Targeting RhoA activity rejuvenates aged hematopoietic stem cells

1. Eva Mejía-Ramírez
2. Pablo Iañez Picazo
3. Barbara Walter
4. Sara Montserrat-Vazquez
5. Francesco Affuso
6. Stefan Wieser
7. Fabio Pezzano
8. Loïc Reymond
9. Jorge Castillo-Robles
10. Francesca Matteini
11. Loris Mularoni
12. Dídac Maciá
13. Ángel Raya
14. Verena Ruprecht
15. Yi Zheng
16. Paula Petrone
17. M. Carolina Florian

Reviewed by preLights

The Rab7-Epg5 and Rab39-ema modules cooperatively position autophagosomes for efficient lysosomal fusions

1. Attila Boda
2. Villő Balázs
3. Anikó Nagy
4. Dávid Hargitai
5. Mónika Lippai
6. Zsófia Simon-Vecsei
7. Márton Molnár
8. Fanni Fürstenhoffer
9. Gábor Juhász
10. Péter Lőrincz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper presents valuable findings on how autophagosomes are positioned along microtubules for their efficient fusion with lysosomes, providing significant insights into the mechanism. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, with high-quality fluorescence microscopy combined with Drosophila genetics. This work will be of broad interest to cell biologists interested in autophagy and related cell biology fields.

Reviewed by eLife

Calcium transfer from the ER to other organelles for optimal signaling in Toxoplasma gondii

1. Zhu-Hong Li
2. Beejan Asady
3. Le Chang
4. Myriam Andrea Hortua Triana
5. Catherine Li
6. Isabelle Coppens
7. Silvia NJ Moreno

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study shows that calcium stores in the endoplasmic reticulum of the parasitic protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii play a major role in buffering calcium levels in the cytosol as well as other organelles such as the mitochondrion. Advanced imaging techniques, including use of genetically encoded calcium indicators provide compelling evidence for the role of the SERCA-Ca2+ ATPase pump in regulating organellar calcium levels. However, it remains unclear whether intra-organellar calcium transport occurs via ER-mitochondria membrane contact sites or other mechanisms. This work will be of interest to cell and molecular biologists interested in calcium signalling in divergent eukaryotes.

Reviewed by eLife

Treacle and MDC1 coordinate rDNA break repair by homologous recombination

1. Andrea Haenel
2. Johannes Leyrer
3. Manuel Stucki

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript reports valuable results on the role of MDC1 and Treacle in DSB repair in rDNA repeats. It has been previously established that MDC1 is replaced by Treacle as the main adaptor in the nucleolar DNA damage response. This work provides convincing evidence that MDC1 is required for the recruitment of RAD51 and BRCA1 to DSBs in rDNA. The work involves multiple MDC1 knockout models and establishes that RFN8-RNF168 act downstream of MDC1 in the recruitment of the HR machinery to nucleolar DSBs.

Reviewed by eLife

Aging-associated Increase of GATA4 levels in Articular Cartilage is Linked to Impaired Regenerative Capacity of Chondrocytes and Osteoarthritis

1. Meagan J Makarczyk
2. Yiqian Zhang
3. Alyssa Aguglia
4. Olivia Bartholomew
5. Sophie Hines
6. Kate Li
7. Suyash Sinkar
8. Silvia Liu
9. Craig Duvall
10. Hang Lin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important finding on the role of GATA4 in aging- and OA-associated cartilage pathology. The conclusions are well supported by compelling in vitro and in vivo evidence. This work will be of broad interest to both cell biologists and orthopedic/skeletal health clinicians.

Reviewed by eLife

Canonical and phosphoribosyl ubiquitination coordinate to stabilize a proteinaceous structure surrounding the Legionella-containing vacuole

1. Adriana Steinbach
2. Chetan Mokkapati
3. Shaeri Mukherjee

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript presents a valuable and insightful contribution to the understanding of how Legionella pneumophila remodels its vacuolar niche through coordinated ubiquitination mechanisms. The identification of Rab5 as a target of both canonical and phosphoribosyl ubiquitination, and the demonstration of a detergent-resistant ubiquitin "cloud" surrounding the LCV, represent significant advances in the field. The findings are supported by rigorous experimental design, robust quantitative analyses, and clear mechanistic insight, meeting a standard of evidence that is compelling and exceeds current state-of-the-art approaches.

Reviewed by eLife

Human receptive endometrial assembloid for deciphering the implantation window

1. Yu Zhang
2. Rusong Zhao
3. Chaoyan Yang
4. Jinzhu Song
5. Peishu Liu
6. Yan Li
7. Boyang Liu
8. Tao Li
9. Changjian Yin
10. Minghui Lu
11. Zhenzhen Hou
12. Chuanxin Zhang
13. Zi-Jiang Chen
14. Keliang Wu
15. Han Zhao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports an endometrial organoid culture system mimicking the window of implantation. The evidence supporting the conclusion drawn is convincing. The data will be of interest to embryologists and investigators working on reproductive biology and medicine.

Reviewed by eLife

Paclitaxel compromises nuclear integrity in interphase through SUN2-mediated cytoskeletal coupling

1. Thomas Hale
2. Victoria L Hale
3. Piotr Kolata
4. Ália dos Santos
5. Matteo Allegretti

Reviewed by preLights, Review Commons