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Morphogenesis is the process by which an organism, tissue or organ develops its shape. Morphogenesis is driven by various cellular and developmental processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, cell migration and cell adhesion.
This study presents the essential functions of the ZnF motif in sorting of the melanophilin protein and novel functions of melanophilin in dendritogenesis in melanocytes.
MAPK-driven tumorigenesis is often related to epithelial dedifferentiation but the regulatory mechanism is less clear. Here, the authors show that MAPK activation upregulates USP15 to promote deubiquitylation and stability of TBX3, a transcription factor implicated in thyroid development and differentiation, driving tumorigenesis in a BRAFV600E thyroid tumor model.
Bristleworms possess dedicated cells that can synthesize highly stereotypical bristles with sub-micrometric precision. Here, Ikeda and colleagues shed light on the underlying dynamics of cellular protrusions, revealing an extension-disassembly cycle that resembles a 3D printer.
Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.
Cell–cell adhesions are inevitably exposed to mechanical forces. A landmark paper by Yonemura et al. identified how tension alters molecular function of the cadherin adhesion apparatus. Its legacy lies in the many on-going efforts to understand how mechanical force is used in cell–cell communication.
Analysis of cells shed from the mouse gut, using bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, as well as single-molecule FISH and intravital imaging, revealed that shed cells are diverse, remain viable for a few hours and upregulate anti-microbial gene expression programs.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Sarah Paramore (from the Devenport and Nelson labs) discusses the use of mouse strains carrying genomic alterations in PCP genes and how they can increase our understanding of mammalian planar cell polarity.