Cell Biology

A TRPV4-dependent calcium signaling axis governs lamellipodial actin architecture to promote cell migration

1. Ernest Iu
2. Alexander Bogatch
3. Wenjun Deng
4. Jonathan D. Humphries
5. Changsong Yang
6. Fernando R. Valencia
7. Chengyin Li
8. Christopher A. McCulloch
9. Guy Tanentzapf
10. Tatyana M. Svitkina
11. Martin J. Humphries
12. Sergey V. Plotnikov

Reviewed by PREreview

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

Post-translational modifications of microtubules are crucial for malaria parasite transmission

1. Kodzo Atchou
2. Magali Roques
3. Ruth Rehmann
4. Reto Caldelari
5. Melanie Schmid
6. Simone Grossi
7. Bianca Manuela Berger
8. Torsten Ochsenreiter
9. Friedrich Frischknecht
10. Volker Heussler

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable insights into microtubule remodeling during liver-stage Plasmodium berghei development, demonstrating that deletion of the alpha-tubulin C-terminal tail impairs parasite growth in mosquitoes and abolishes infection in HeLa cells. The work is technically ambitious, employing advanced microscopy, genetic mutants, and pharmacological approaches. However, key claims are only partially supported due to incomplete evidence linking tubulin modifications to microtubule dynamics and uncertain antibody-based PTM detection.

Reviewed by eLife

Chromatin activity of IκBα mediates the exit from naïve pluripotency

1. Luis G Palma
2. Daniel Alvarez-Villanueva
3. Maria Maqueda
4. Mercedes Barrero
5. Arnau Iglesias
6. Joan Bertran
7. Damiana Alvarez
8. Carlos A Garcia-Prieto
9. Cecilia Ballare
10. Virginia Rodriguez-Cortez
11. Clara Bueno
12. August Vidal
13. Alberto Villanueva
14. Pablo Menendez
15. Gregoire Stik
16. Luciano Di Croce
17. Bernhard Payer
18. Manel Esteller
19. Lluis Espinosa
20. Anna Bigas

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study describes a non-canonical role for IκBα in regulating mouse embryonic stem cell pluripotency and differentiation, independent of the classical NF-κB pathway. The conclusions are convincingly supported through orthogonal approaches and separation of function mutants. The findings add new insight into pluripotency regulation in mouse cells.

Reviewed by eLife

An expanded palette of bright and photostable organellar Ca2+ sensors

1. Agathe Moret
2. Helen Farrants
3. Ruolin Fan
4. Kelsey G Zingg
5. Bryon Silva
6. Camilla Roselli
7. Thomas G Oertner
8. Christine E Gee
9. Dafni Hadjieconomou
10. Vidhya Rangaraju
11. Eric R Schreiter
12. Jaime de Juan-Sanz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study introduces a new class of spectrally tunable, dye-based calcium sensors optimized for imaging in organelles with high calcium concentrations, such as the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. The experimental evidence supporting the applicability of these sensors is convincing, with thorough validation in cultured cells and neurons. The work will be of high interest to researchers studying calcium signaling dynamics in subcellular compartments.

Reviewed by eLife

SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein induces LC3 lipidation via the V-ATPase-ATG16L1 axis

1. Carmen Figueras-Novoa
2. Lewis Timimi
3. Elena Marcassa
4. Raquel Taveira-Marques
5. Lorin Adams
6. Ming Jiang
7. Mary Wu
8. Beatriz Montaner
9. Kevin Ng
10. Giuditta De Lorenzo
11. Wilhelm Furnon
12. Vanessa M. Cowton
13. Nicole Upfold
14. George Kassiotis
15. Ruth Harvey
16. Arvind H Patel
17. Michael Howell
18. Rachel Ulferts
19. Rupert Beale

Reviewed by Review Commons

Cell Adhesion-Dependent Biphasic Axon Outgrowth Elucidated by Femtosecond Laser Impulse

1. Sohei Yamada
2. Kentarou Baba
3. Naoyuki Inagaki
4. Yoichiroh Hosokawa

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Axon growth is essential to formation of neural connections. This manuscript presents a useful presentation of a new method for assessing the adhesion strength of axons with the use of a laser-induced shock wave. However, the strength of the evidence is incomplete as critical controls for calibration and time course are lacking.

Reviewed by eLife

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. Ryan L Boudreau
11. Jennifer Streeter
12. William H Thiel
13. Isabella M Grumbach

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study is valuable for understanding how dysfunctional mitochondria contribute to vascular diseases by investigating the influence of Miro1 on smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointima development. The solid findings collectively indicate that Miro1 regulates mitochondrial cristae architecture and the efficiency of the respiratory chain. Nevertheless, the analysis would benefit from a more thorough assessment of the relationship between Miro1-dependent mitochondrial defects and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Reviewed by eLife

A single factor for safer cellular rejuvenation

1. Lucas Paulo de Lima Camillo
2. Rihab Gam
3. Katsiaryna Maskalenka
4. Francis J. A. LeBlanc
5. Gustavo Antonio Urrutia
6. Gabriel M. Mejia
7. Henry E. Miller
8. Christopher P. Wardlaw
9. Adam Pickles
10. Laura Everton
11. Ringaile Zaksauskaite
12. Rejina B. Khan
13. Andreas Welsh
14. Samira Gambo
15. Stephany Gallardo
16. Zoryana Oliynyk
17. Sagar S. Varankar
18. Alexander E. Epstein
19. Adam Bendall
20. Jonathan Mowatt
21. Daniel Ives
22. Brendan M. Swain

Reviewed by PREreview

PHD1-dependent hydroxylation of RepoMan (CDCA2) on P604 modulates the control of mitotic progression

1. Jimena Druker
2. Hao Jiang
3. Dilem Shakir
4. Fraser Child
5. Vanesa Alvarez
6. Melpomeni Platani
7. Andrea Corno
8. Constance Alabert
9. Adrian T Saurin
10. Jason R Swedlow
11. Sonia Rocha
12. Angus I Lamond

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This compelling work describes how the cell cycle-regulating phosphatase subunit, RepoMan, is regulated by the oxygen-dependent, metabolite-sensing hydroxylase PHD1. The characterisation of how proline hydroxylation alters signalling at the molecular and cellular level provides important evidence to enhance our understanding of how 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases influence the cell cycle and mitosis.

Reviewed by eLife