biosights

Formin' arcs at the immunological synapse

When a T cell encounters an antigen-presenting cell, it dramatically reorganizes its cytoskeleton to form a specialized contact site called the immunological synapse. Murugesan et al. use superresolution microscopy to reveal that the medial region of the synapse contains a contractile network of formin-generated actomyosin arcs that sweep T cell receptor microclusters toward the center of the synapse. This biosights episode presents the paper by Murugesan et al. from the November 7th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, John Hammer (NHLBI, Bethesda, MD). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

Retinal ganglion cells have a backup plan

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are born at the apical side of the retinal neuroepithelium before they translocate to the basal side and send out axons to form the optic nerve. Icha et al. reveal that, in the zebrafish retina, RGC translocation is expedited by basal process attachment and a population of stable microtubules. If necessary, however, RGCs can switch to a backup, multipolar migratory mode to ensure that they reach the basal lamina in time to support the later stages of retinal development. This biosights episode presents the paper by Icha et al. from the October 24th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Caren Norden (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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An iron hand controls endosome-mitochondria contacts

In erythroid cells, endocytosed iron is directly transferred into mitochondria at dynamic endosome-mitochondria contacts. Das et al. reveal that this process also occurs in epithelial cells, and that the motility of endosomes, and the duration of their interactions with mitochondria, is modulated by intra-endosomal iron release from transferrin. This biosights episode presents the paper by Das et al. from the September 26th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Margarida Barroso (Albany Medical College, Albany, NY). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Septins step in to promote macropinosome fusion

After they are formed by the closure of membrane ruffles, macropinosomes mature by fusing with each other and with endosomes, before eventually delivering their fluid phase cargo to lysosomes. Dolat and Spiliotis reveal that septin filaments promote macropinosome maturation and lysosomal delivery by facilitating macropinosome/endosome fusion. This biosights episode presents the paper by Dolat and Spiliotis from the August 29th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Elias Spiliotis (Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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The midbody enables ciliogenesis

Fibroblasts initiate ciliogenesis inside the cell, but polarized epithelial cells form a primary cilium at the apical cell surface through a mechanism that is largely uncharacterized. Bernabé-Rubio et al. reveal that, in polarized MDCK cells, a remnant of the cytokinetic midbody moves to the center of the apical surface, where it encounters the centrosome and enables cilium formation. This biosights episode presents the paper by Bernabé-Rubio et al. from the August 1, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Miguel Alonso (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Mobilizing mitochondria aids axon regeneration

In mature neurons, the axonal transport of mitochondria is suppressed by the expression of the mitochondrial anchoring protein syntaphilin. Zhou et al. reveal that enhancing mitochondrial transport in mature neurons rescues energy deficits and facilitates axon regeneration after injury. This biosights episode presents the paper by Zhou et al. from the July 4th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Zu-Hang Sheng (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Neural crest cells stay within versican's confines

Spatial confinement enhances collective cell migration in vitro, but whether it promotes collective migration in vivo is unclear. Szabó et al. reveal that the extracellular matrix protein versican confines neural crest cells to enhance their collective migration during Xenopus laevis embryogenesis. This biosights episode presents the paper by Szabó et al. from the June 6th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Roberto Mayor (University College London, London, England, UK). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Surf's uptake! Exosomes ride filopodia into cells

Exosomes are small, extracellular vesicles that transfer lipid, protein, and RNA cargoes between cells, but relatively little is known about how they are taken up and processed by their target cells. Heusermann et al. reveal that exosomes "surf" along recipient cell filopodia before being efficiently endocytosed and targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum. This biosights episode presents the paper by Heusermann et al. from the April 25, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Nicole Meisner-Kober (Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Sac1 works its contacts

The plasma membrane phosphoinositide PI(4,5)P2 is derived from PI(4)P, whose levels are controlled by the essential lipid phosphatase Sac1. Sac1 is an integral ER membrane protein, but Dickson et al. reveal that it localizes to dynamic ER–plasma membrane contact sites to regulate plasma membrane PI(4)P and PI(4,5)P2 levels. This biosights episode presents the paper by Dickson et al. from the April 11th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's corresponding author, Eamonn Dickson (University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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Fat2 whips fly eggs into shape

During Drosophila oogenesis, the collective migration of egg chamber follicle cells drives the chambers' rotation and elongation. Squarr et al. reveal that the atypical cadherin Fat2 recruits the WAVE regulatory complex to tricellular junctions to induce the formation of whip-like actin protrusions that control collective migration and tissue rotation. This biosights episode presents the paper by Squarr et al. from the February 29th, 2016, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Sven Bogdan (University of Münster, Münster, Germany). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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The Rockefeller University Press [email protected]